For Piotr's Sake
by Susan Hilton
Summary: The premise of this story? What if Pavel Chekov really did have a brother named Piotr and he happened to be from the "Mirror Mirror" universe? In this story, Piotr decides to return the lost starship Defiant from "The Tholian Web". This story has new characters I invented and has turned into a crossover with DS9. PLEASE REVIEW
1. A False Memory

For Piotr's Sake

Author note: This story takes place five years after the Five Year Mission, before the adventure with V'ger and Mr. Bester and before Pavel acquired telepathic ability from the Babylon Five universe.

Pavel Chekov emerged from the safe-like transporter on twentieth century Earth as Seven operated its controls from the large interactive computer. Pavel was now a Lieutenant Commander, the first officer of a starship called the Reliant. Seven had informed his new captain, a Black man named Terrell, of his other job as an intergalactic agent. Terrell, of course, knew that such a job required secrecy, so whenever Mr. Seven contacted him, the crew was told simply that Chekov was on a special assignment. Chekov looked at Mr. Seven with curiosity.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Pavel. Have a seat. You have a new assignment, and this time it's personal. I thought I would tell you about this in advance. It's about your brother."

"My brother?" Pavel asked with a puzzled frown, seating himself at Seven's large ebony office desk with the blinking green sensor cube. "I don't have a brother!" His eyes narrowed. "Are you teasing me, sir? That was a very embarrassing incident in my life, you know. I carried on so about a non-existent brother and almost forced myself on that smelly Klingon skank."

Seven gave him a frown of slight disapproval, noticing that Chekov felt the same way about Klingons as some people in Seven's era felt about certain human ethnic groups. He sighed, thinking that some things never change.

"Actually, Pavel, you do have a brother. He's your twin and is living in that alternate universe that your former captain happened upon. The false memory of your brother's demise during a Klingon raid on the planet Arcanus came from your psych test when you were recruited to work for me. I felt it necessary to implant it so you would not have any desire to try and contact him. It was somewhat unfortunate that the non-corporeal entity dragged the false memory out of you and intensified your hatred of the Klingons."

Pavel stared at him in astonishment and disbelief.

"But…why did you implant a false memory? He's my brother!"

"He's also very dangerous. He's worse than anyone you are likely to encounter. He was raised differently than you were and he's moved up in rank faster than you have. The starship crews in that other universe move up in rank by assassination of their superiors. In fact, he was the one who attempted to assassinate your version of Captain Kirk after he refused to annihilate the Halkans. I didn't want you to get hurt or killed."

Chekov smiled at the compliment.

"I'm hardly his superior, sir."

Seven returned the smile.

"You are older by one minute, Pavel. According to their way of thinking that makes you his superior. You are a better person than he is too. You see…you were separated at birth. Your parents, who were quite unusual in that universe, felt that they could not afford to care for two sickly infants, and they hadn't the hearts to kill the two of you, so they took you and your brother into a weakened area in space, tenuously bridging the two universes. When they discovered that they were in your current universe, they decided to keep your brother to care for and raise and to beam you onto the nearest Federation outpost where you were adopted by your parents on this side, who just happened to be stationed there and were doubles of the ones from that other universe."

"Then, logically, I should have another twin brother in this universe, right?"

"No, Pavel. Believe it or not you were both stillborn on this side, which is the reason your grieving parents on this side took you from their counterparts, nursed you back to health and raised you. You never knew your sibling."

"Well…That's quite a story, sir. So what you are saying is that I was born in that other universe?" Seven nodded. "That was a wild coincidence about my true birth parents finding their counterparts in this universe and giving me to them…." He paused for a moment in wonder and astonishment. "So what's my new assignment?"

"You are going to meet him, Pavel. He will be returning the starship Defiant to Federation space. It recently emerged on that side after four years of floating in the black void between universes in the Tholian sector. Your job is to make sure Captain Piotr or Commander Loskene does not make trouble for the people on your side. I think it's time for you to return to your century, Lieutenant, before you are missed. By the way, I'm glad the Tholians were not successful at destroying the Enterprise with their energy web."

"Thank you, sir. I am too." He gave Seven a crooked little smile. "Otherwise, if they had been, I would not have been recruited as an agent. On another subject, Isis told me a little bit about Miss Lincoln's last excursion. Is she all right?"

Seven nodded in the affirmative. The young lady he had recently recruited as an intergalactic secret agent had been transported onto the twenty-third century Enterprise by the Q named Quinn in a time before Chekov had been assigned to the starship. In this twentieth century time frame, she had developed quite a crush on the younger Pavel, and he liked her too and was flattered. She had been asked by the Q to help an officer named Fisher retain some of his sanity after he was diagnosed with transporter psychosis. Fisher had beamed himself down to the planet Alpha 175 and Roberta had volunteered to rescue him. Roberta had had a bad scare when she realized that a leg of a giant hairy ugly tarantula was not a tree trunk. Seven had given her another week off to recuperate after she was returned to the twentieth century by her alien friend, the Q.


	2. The Captain's Doubts

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter two

Author note: I have consulted a real Ukrainian about common Russian first and last names in order to come up with the name for my new character, the chief medical officer of the Reliant. He supplied me with some interesting information about the use of names in Russian culture. He told me that all women have the letter "a" at the end of their surnames, indicating that they are female. That brings up another inconsistency with Pavel's girlfriend from "The Way to Eden". Her last name should have been "Galielulena". Also, it was he who told me about Pavel's surname and its actual meaning. In all these years, I never knew that, and I found it very amusing and decided to include it in this story.

"Captain's personal log, stardate 6641.4…." Captain Richard Terrell of the USS Reliant paused for a moment, making sure that no one was overhearing his recording. He didn't want anyone to eavesdrop because he didn't want what he was about to say to get back to his new first officer. He was seated in his quarters in front of his tri-screen, a half-empty glass of Eminien Trova next to it. He took a sip of it and sighed. He wasn't very much impressed with his new first officer yet, but the much younger and likable man with the thick Russian accent had come with impressive credentials. However, Terrell thought that he may have been promoted too soon. "I would like to get my hands on the headquarters genius who assigned this little flake as my new first officer. I admit that he is somewhat intelligent, and he did tell me about the dangers of the area of space we will enter. I will give him credit for that, although I already knew about it, having read the Enterprise logs concerning the Tholians and about him being the first victim of that area of space. Also... most of the younger women on the ship seemed to be charmed by his bubbly little personality, but I am wondering if this kid can handle the job, being that he is also working for that covert group affectionately known as the Men in Black...Many women on this ship seem to think he's cute, but cute doesn't cut it in this way of life. My chief medical officer, Doctor Darya Petrova, has educated me about the new first officer's last name. Being a Russian herself, she was the only crewmember to pick up on the fact that his surname is meaningless. She told me that his last name, roughly translated, means "receipt-safety pin". She is looking forward to conversing with the new first officer to find out why this is so when he goes in for his routine physical and gives her the information she needs to inoculate the crew. It remains to be seen if Mr. Chekov has the right stuff to be a first officer. We have been assigned to establish diplomatic relations with the Tholians, who still believe that humans are liars. They believe that we are liars because the starship Defiant was lost with all hands, and they were unable to verify Spock's assertion that it had been caught in an inter spacial rift between universes. According to my new first officer, that will change soon, although I am doubtful of this. He claims that the Defiant will soon reappear intact in our universe, although I cannot fathom how that could happen. The official report was that it dissolved into nothing. It remains to be seen if that is not true, and that it slipped into a corridor between universes and re-emerged intact into that parallel universe that his former captain had encountered during the historic five year mission."

As Pavel Chekov made his way down the corridor to sickbay, clutching a yellow colored diskette containing Dr. McCoy's cure for the space they were about to enter in his right hand, he wondered why Mr. Seven was so concerned about the goings on in his century and about the dangers they were facing with their new assignment. He felt as if there was more to Seven's order that he visit him in the twentieth century and also felt that Mr. Seven was deliberately hiding something from him, but knew him well enough not to pry into his reasons for being so concerned. It was not every day that Seven contacted him and told him to report to his apartment on twentieth century Earth just to inform him about something that Pavel considered a bit trivial. He sighed. It was probably true that Piotr was a dangerous fellow, but he felt that he was a big boy. Besides, there was safety in numbers. There was obviously something much more important on Seven's mind; something that was probably vital to the security of the universe, but remained a mystery to the Reliant's new first officer. Perhaps, he surmised to himself as he entered sickbay, it had something to do with the crazy fabric of space and time they were about to enter. He knew that Mr. Seven used an unknown source of power for his transporter. Maybe that had something to do with Mr. Seven's urgent attitude.

Dr. Petrova, a rather plain-looking brunette with intelligent features, looked up from her work as the new first officer entered. She was surprised at how handsome he was and now understood why so many female crewmembers seemed to be crazy about him. She stood and greeted him with a slight pleasant smile. The young first officer returned her smile and shook her hand, at the same time placing the diskette on the table next to it.

"You must be First Officer Chekov. I am Dr. Petrova. Welcome aboard the Reliant, sir."

"_Spasibo, _Doctor. I have brought you some information from Dr. McCoy that pertains to our current mission and about the space we are about to enter."

She picked up the diskette to examine it.

"I take it you have been here before, sir. Why would this area of space need a cure?"

"_Da. _I have been._" _He paused for a moment, and she noticed that he was blushing for some reason."It is because the space we are about to enter wreaks havoc on the human central nervous system and the area of the brain that controls violent emotions. This diskette contains the information needed to combat the effects of this area so we do not suffer the same fate as the Defiant. The Enterprise crew almost succumbed to it as well."

"I see, and thank you, sir." She paused and looked into his dark hazel eyes. "Sir…may I ask you a personal question?"

"By all means, Doctor."

"What's with the spelling of your last name? It means—"

"Yes, I know what it means." He said with another smile, blushing once again. "There were a couple of reasons why the spelling was changed. The "h" was dropped about a century ago when my relatives were getting tired of being compared to our famous nineteenth century ancestor, even if he was a good writer. We felt that changing our surname was the thing to do, since many of his descendants did not have the talent that he possessed. Also, the reason I continued the tradition of dropping the "h" is that Anton's father was a cruel abusive tyrant, and he had the same first name that I do. Also, I think the current spelling of my last name looks more aesthetically pleasing to our non-Russian colleagues."

Her eyes widened with wonder and she grinned.

"You are a descendant of Anton Chekhov?" He nodded in the affirmative. "Then we have something in common, sir. One of my ancestors was famous as well. Also, in addition to being an excellent writer, your ancestor was a physician and a humanitarian. You have nothing to be ashamed about." She paused for a moment to insert the diskette into a slot beside her tri-screen. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir. As soon as I read this, I will call you in for your physical. It will also give you time to settle in to your new quarters." As she said this, she had already started to read the information as it appeared on her screen. "A theragin derivative? Theragin is a nerve gas used by the Klingons. Very deadly stuff."

"Only in its pure form, Doctor. This is a derivative that only blocks nerve impulses to the brain. I assure you it is harmless and quite affective in combating the effects of the space we are about to enter. You should administer the remedy to all crewmembers before we enter Tholian space."

" Yes, sir, I will. Thank you, Mr. Chekov. I will read up on this and get to work on this right away."


	3. The Kinder, Gentler Tholians

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter Three

Author note: I had to do a little research for this chapter as well. It was easy enough to find out the name of the planet from TNG's "Journey's End", but as it turns out, the planet where Kirk was mistaken for a god ("The Paradise Syndrome") was not given a name. Also I goofed in this chapter! Pavel was not on the bridge when they first encountered the Tholians. That part is now fixed.

Commander Loskene of the Tholian Assembly had just discovered that another Tholian ship, commanded by his fellow Tholian partner named Skala, who had helped him build the energy web that had nearly destroyed the Enterprise almost five years ago had recently vanished with no trace, just as the Vulcan commander had said happened to the lost Federation ship, the Defiant. Being that the Tholians were not human, they were not effected by the madness that this area of space produced, their nervous systems being radically different from those of humans. Loskene then began to consider that perhaps the Vulcan commander of the Federation flagship had not lied to him after all, and they had contacted Starfleet officials to establish peaceful relations with the Federation, in hopes that they would have some solution to get Skala's ship back to where it belonged. The area of space they claimed as their own was becoming increasingly unstable, the Tholians finally realizing that their incursions and their web were what caused the interval of space/time displacements to change the timing at which the Enterprise was waiting for the Defiant to reappear so they could rescue their captain. Of course, they did not know of Captain Kirk at that time, having only conversed with his Vulcan first officer. Loskene had hoped that he would be greeted by the commander of the Enterprise this time as well, but had learned that a starship called the Reliant was ordered into their sector. They had asked to see a crew manifest so that they would know the captain when they first saw him and Starfleet was more than happy to comply with their request. They also were told that the young man who was now the first officer of the Reliant had been the first Enterprise human victim of the effects of their space five years ago.

There was a very good reason why Mr. Seven was so concerned about the Tholian sector in the twenty-third century. The Grays, who were the ones who had established the means of helping the inhabitants of Earth and other planets like it develop into peaceful races, had long ago established a way to channel the natural power of this sector, and had hidden the unmanned base between universes in the Tholian sector. The power base was the source at which Mr. Seven's interdimensional time transporter and servos drew their power. If anyone were to discover it, especially the people from Piotr's universe, it could spell disaster for everyone. In the wrong hands, it could rip apart the space/time continuum. Mr. Seven felt it necessary to keep Roberta at her home in the twentieth century, even though she insisted that she was all right and that her nightmares about Alpha 175 and its terrifying life forms had ceased. As a birthday present, he had given her another week off to celebrate. He knew that she was ready and eager to come back, but her involvement would complicate matters. She was still new at this, and he was concerned for her safety. Also, her newly discovered and acquired abilities might put her in danger. It was best if she stayed out of this. He had asked Isis to keep an eye on her, and to keep her from returning to work too early.

"Captain," The handsome Native American communications officer of the Reliant announced from his post. "Dr. Petrova has announced that all crewmembers have been inoculated from the effects of this space." The captain knew that his communications officer had a unique history. His family had come from a future settlement on a planet called Dorvan Five. When aliens called Cardassians claimed that planet as their own, the Native Americans on the planet where Captain Kirk was mistaken for a god, because of Captain Kirk's inadvertant influence, invited some of the people from Dorvan Five to come and live with them. Blackwing had befriended a young man with unique abilities by the name of Wesley Crusher, who transported Blackwing's family from Dorvan Five to the small planetoid. Because Wesley was no longer in Starfleet, he wasn't bound by the Prime Directive and explained to Salish's people who "Kirok" really was and how their obelisk was able to save their planet from destruction. Blackwing's family was the only one who accepted the invitation to come and live with Salish and his people. Their presence on that planet was of great benefit to the once primitive inhabitants.

"Very good, Mr. Blackwing. Have we been contacted by the Tholians yet?"

"Negative, sir." Blackwing put his communications receiver back in his ear and studied his readouts.

"We should be soon, sir." Added Chekov nervously, standing beside the captain's chair on his way to his post. "It didn't take them long to discover us the first time we were here." He glanced at a familiar face at the helm. He had just been informed that Lt. Rahda had recently been transferred to the Reliant, having had her fill of Spock. Chekov knew that Spock often embarrassed her and singled her out because she was not precise enough for him. He also knew that being on a ship manned by humans would be slightly less stressful. Even though he grew to like Spock, he could understand why Rahda had decided to distance herself from the Vulcan. He suddenly wondered if she would resent being subordinate to him, since she was ten years older than he.

Naomi Rahda felt the weight of Lieutenant Commander Chekov's stare, but decided it was best not to turn around. She liked him very much, but also thought it was a bit awkward that he was now a first officer on a starship while she was still a mere lieutenant. She knew her job and knew it well, and resented the fact that she was still the same rank as when Chekov was an ensign. She felt as if Spock had kept her from advancing in her career but had absolutely nothing against the young first officer. At least on this ship, she might have a chance. "Sir, we are now in the last known location of the starship Defiant and my readings indicate that a Tholian ship is on an intercept course."

"Confirmed, sir." Blackwing announced from his post. "They are hailing us."

"Put them on screen." Terrell ordered softly as Chekov made his way to the science station. The captain stood as the image of the Tholian appeared on the screen. Terrell's first impression of the alien was that of a man in a suit of armor, surrounded by an atmosphere that was somewhat distorting the image he was seeing. Doctor Petrova told him that Tholians breathed an atmosphere poisonous to humans, so it would be next to impossible to be in the same room with them, unless they donned space suits that could resist the thermal attributes of the stuff they breathed as well. They surmised that the Tholian home world was probably the same temperature as the planet Venus.

"You are Captain Richard Terrell of the starship Reliant?" The Tholian inquired, sounding as if he had just inhaled a balloon full of helium.

"I am, sir. Do I have the honor of addressing Commander Loskene of the Tholian Assembly?"

"I am he. On behalf of my governing officials, I must apologize for almost destroying your starship Enterprise. We now know that our space is the cause of your not being able to retrieve your missing starship and that you had no wish to deceive us. Also, we have decided to ask for your help in retrieving one of our ships that was also lost in this sector recently."

At that moment, the proximity alarm went off and the bridge crew tensed up. Then, with a collective gasp and a sigh of relief, they watched as the starship Defiant appeared fully intact, the Tholian ship that had been reported missing being towed behind it with a tractor beam. They were relieved because they had wondered how they were going to find Skala's ship, and now it turned up right before their eyes.

"Well, that was fast." Chekov said with a slight smile. He then turned a little more serious, now wondering what the new crew from the parallel universe did with all the Defiant corpses and why Skala's Tholian ship was not running on its own power.


	4. The M6 Multitronic Unit

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter Four

Captain Piotr Chekov of the newly discovered and refitted starship Defiant was pleased by their Dr. Daystrom's newest feat. So far, the M6 Multitronic unit was proving to be much superior to the M5, which, amusingly, had gone out of its way to destroy an unmanned ore freighter. They had found out much from the starship Defiant's computer when it emerged into their universe. This Chekov was astonished to discover that the man he thought was his former captain was a sentimental softie from a parallel universe, and that his counterpart had a different first name. Obviously, that captain Kirk was too busy trying to figure out a way back to where he belonged that he did not bother to ask anyone what his first name was. However, Piotr was grateful to that Kirk for not ordering full duration of the agony booth for his assassination attempt. Full duration would have probably killed him. They also found out that the other Daystrom suffered a nervous breakdown and was committed to an asylum. Piotr was glad that their Daystrom was not mentally ill and that the Empire decided that it would be best not to kill their Daystrom for his previous failure and gave him another chance to improve his computer system. This time, he did not impress his human engrams on the computer. M6 was proving to be a useful tool for the Empire. It had performed wonderfully so far, exceeding their expectations. Piotr felt confident that with a crew of twenty and the powerful new M6 unit, they could easily defeat almost any opponent and take control of almost any planet they might encounter, with the possible exception of the newly discovered Tholians. They had recently signed a non-aggression pact with them, realizing that they were no match for those more powerful and advanced entities.

They had disposed of the corpses of the Defiant crew in the usual fashion, putting them into spent torpedo cases and shooting them into the nearest star. It would not have been possible to enter the alternate universe at the time of the discovery of the Defiant and track down their families. In fact, for a while, they had not realized that this area of space that the Tholians called their own was riddled with anomalies which distorted the space/time continuum and had corridors leading into other dimensions, until they gleaned all the information they could from the Federation starship. They, of course, also found out about the dangers of this region of space, and Captain Piotr had his medical officer also inoculate his crew against its effects. Unfortunately, when the other Tholian ship suddenly emerged from the alternate reality, the M6 unit mistook it for an invading alien ship and fired full phasers, crippling it and killing their commander. Also, for a short time, the new Defiant crew was not aware that the deployment of their weapons and their tractor beam which now held Skala's ship had caused the new and improved Defiant to re-enter the parallel universe. The bridge crew looked on with astonishment and perplexity at the scene of another Federation starship and another Tholian vessel as they appeared on the main view screen after a brief encounter with the black void between the two dimensions.

Captain Terrell stared at the Federation starship in astonishment. He turned to his equally astonished young first officer.

"Chekov…is that the Defiant?"

Pavel studied the readings inside his hooded viewer and nodded in the affirmative.

"Yes sir. That is our starship all right. NCC-1764… the Defiant. Sensor readings, however, indicate there are only twenty human life form readings. Someone has painted over the part where it's supposed to say "USS" and put in its place "ISS". Nevertheless, the ship's warp signature matches the one we have on file for our missing ship."

"It's very strange that there are only twenty life forms." Terrell stated softly and with curiosity. "How could they run a starship with only twenty people on board?"

"I do not know, sir, but I am detecting some very strange power readings from the engineering section. Also, Loskene is powering up his weapons." He added, sudden tension in his voice. " Whoever is running the Defiant may have developed another Daystrom-like computer system. As you will recall,sir, the M5 only required twenty crew people to run it as well. If that is the case, I do hope this one has an off-switch."

"As do I." Terrell said, turning back to Blackwing. "Hail the Defiant, Mr. Blackwing."

The Native American communications officer complied swiftly. Soon, the image of the Defiant's captain appeared, and, much to the Reliant Captain's astonishment, he was identical to his new first officer. After most of the bridge crew got over their astonishment, Terrell addressed the Defiant captain, his voice and body language tense as well. He hoped that Loskene would not fire on them and that the Defiant captain had an explanation for the damaged Tholian ship still firmly held in a tractor beam.

"Starship Defiant, I am Captain Terrell of the Federation starship Reliant. To whom do I have the honor of addressing? Also, what happened to the Tholian ship you have in tow?"

"Greetings, Captain Terrell." The dark haired young captain of the Defiant answered with a somewhat disconcerting and sinister smirk. "I am Captain Piotr Chekov of the ISS Defiant. Please ask your Tholian friends not to fire on us. The ship we are tractoring met with an overzealous computer system recently installed. Fortunately, unlike its predecessor, this one can be turned off. It is disabled for now and our crew is in control of the ship." The young Chekov counterpart turned as someone in the background spoke to him. Then, he turned back to the screen. "Our sensor readings indicate that the other Tholian ship is powering up weapons. Please ask them not to fire. Skala's ship was attacked by accident."

Before Terrell could comply, Loskene's ship fired on the Defiant, severing their hold on Skala's ship. It swiftly drifted out of viewing range as the Defiant reeled from the sudden phaser barrage. Pavel Chekov knew that the Tholians were not fond of listening to explanations. Before he could tell the captain of this fact, a shock wave of some sort soon followed, hitting the Reliant hard, knocking almost everyone who was standing to the floor. Pavel's head impacted the orange railing behind his station and he was knocked unconscious. Rahda tried valiantly to regain attitude control and whimpered with pain as she realized her right arm was injured as most of the bridge crew recovered. Their navigator, a young man named Quincy, who wore old-fashioned wire-rimmed glasses because he was allergic to Retinox,was knocked out as well as his console inexplicably exploded. The spectacles flew off and the lenses shattered. Blackwing swiftly called Dr. Petrova to the bridge as the red alert alarm sounded. Terrell ordered shields up and battle stations as the attitude control was re-established.

.


	5. Casualties

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter Five

The phaser barrage from Loskene's ship and the strange shock wave ended abruptly. All was silent, except for the red alert alarm. Also, Lieutenant Rahda was weeping softly at her station, her eyes closed. She appeared to be gritting her teeth against the pain of her injured appendage. Terrell frowned in puzzlement and consternation as he was the first to discover that the stars had vanished. They were apparently in some sort of black void. Since there was no point of reference, he wasn't sure if they were drifting or even where they were. However, Rahda had managed to stabilize the Reliant's attitude control. He was impressed by her actions. If she hadn't have stabilized the ship, many other lives might have been lost. He looked around the bridge with concern at the other two injured crewmembers. Cameron Quincy, the navigator, who was lying prone and unconscious on the floor, appeared to be badly hurt. Sparks flew from his damaged console and acrid smoke was starting to drift where Quincy lay. The captain gasped when he saw the semi-prone and also unconscious form of Pavel Chekov, who was lying under the orange railing that separated the crew from the captain's chair, a large bleeding gash on his forehead.

"Blackwing, cancel red alert. Any word from Chief Engineer Masters? I need a damage report! Where is Petrova? We also need medics!"

"Doctor Petrova will be here shortly, sir. She reports that casualty reports are coming in from all over the ship. Masters might have been hurt too. There is still no word from anyone in engineering. Whatever hit us hit us hard." Blackwing was picking up a message on his earpiece. "Sir, the Defiant is hailing us. They are asking for our help. They report two dead and eight of their crew are injured. They are also saying that the M6 unit was damaged by the Tholian attack."

"Tell them to stand by for transport. What about the Tholians? Are they still with us?"

"Negative, sir. They seem to have disappeared without a trace. Sir, Masters is all right. She reports that there is a hull breach from whatever hit us on deck nine. The force field is holding, though. Eight confirmed dead from her section, apparently blown out of the breach before the containment force field went up."

As Blackwing ended his sentence and started answering the Defiant crew, Doctor Petrova and a young female nurse named Leila Bennett emerged from the orange turbo lift doors with four strong male orderlies following, carrying emergency stretchers. The captain directed them to the three injured crewmembers. Bennett gasped in horror when she saw Quincy. The captain knew that they were in a relationship. With tears of worry starting to pool in her deep blue eyes, she started to approach him. Petrova halted her stride by putting an arm across her chest and told her to attend to Rahda as she assessed Chekov's and Quincy's conditions. Bennett complied, Terrell noticing that she was glancing at her injured boyfriend with worry and taking out her medical tricorder . She began to scan Rahda's arm as the orderlies stood by for instructions, also with concerned looks on their faces.

"Report, Doctor." The captain ordered.

"Both Mr. Quincy and Mr. Chekov have sustained severe concussions, sir. Quincy is the worst off with a hairline skull fracture and second degree burns on his face and hands. He also has internal injuries." She looked at Bennett and asked her about Rahda's condition. She informed her that the helmsperson had a compound fracture of her right humerus and sustained a less serious concussion. "Let's get them all to sickbay as soon as possible." The doctor looked up at the four orderlies. "Ballan and Jensen, take Quincy first. Hartshorne and Mohler, you take Chekov." She peered at Rahda, whose eyes were now open. However, she appeared to be in shock. "Lieutenant, can you make it on your own?" At first, Rahda didn't answer. She stared at her blankly. "Naomi, can you hear me?" Petrova asked with concern, her hands on her new patient's shoulders. The obviously dazed helmsperson then nodded slowly. "Bennett, help her get to sickbay."

"Doctor, we also need to set up an emergency triage center in the rec room. There will be casualties beaming in from the Defiant." Terrell informed her softly.

"Acknowledged, sir." Petrova answered a bit uncomfortably, watching as Quincy was taken from the bridge first, followed by Chekov. She did not like the idea of having potentially dangerous individuals beam aboard the ship. She then considered that they were also human beings and they needed help. As a Starfleet doctor, it was her duty to care for the sick and injured, regardless of where they came from. She had to keep that in mind. The rec room was a good choice for an emergency triage center, since sickbay had limited space. Because of all the deaths and injuries, she did not have time to count casualties, but estimated that there were already about fifty crewmembers in need of medical attention. Bennett was holding on to Rahda by her uninjured arm and half-dragged her into the turbo lift.

As Doctor Petrova worked on Mr. Quincy, she had ordered Nurse Bennett to monitor Mr. Chekov's condition. The young blonde nurse, like half the women on the ship, thought that she was in love with the Russian at first sight. Chekov remained unconscious, now wearing a bandage over the cut on his forehead. The tension following the seemingly unprovoked attack on the Defiant and the strange and destructive shock wave that followed was palpable. Pavel's condition kept her occupied enough to keep her mind off of her badly injured ex- boyfriend for the time being. She studied the overhead readouts, and with relief noticed that the first officer's vital signs were stabilized. Tending to Mr. Chekov also kept her mind from coming to the almost implausible conclusion that what had happened on the bridge was her fault. Recently, some very strange things were happening to her. Sometimes, when she grew angry or upset, inanimate objects would fly across the room. She had just had a fight with Cameron about women in Starfleet. He had told her that if they were to marry, she would have to resign her commission. That was something that she felt she should not have to do, and that his attitude was archaic. The fight escalated to the point where she stormed out of his quarters, vowing never to speak to him again. Now, she realized that she almost lost him, and that trying to get him jealous by giving the handsome and older new first officer the eye didn't work. She glanced over at Petrova as the chief medical officer worked on Cameron, and with great relief, noticed that Cameron's vital signs were also stable. She hoped that no one else was picking up her guilt and worry. She had hoped that whatever had caused the physical manifestations of apparent telekinesis had not contributed to what had happened on the bridge, and that the cause was the weird fabric of space they were in.

After things had calmed down a bit, the captain entered the room. Leila started when she heard his voice, still convinced of her guilt. Blushing, Leila kept her eyes on Chekov's overhead panel. The captain didn't seem to notice her reaction and approached the chief medical officer instead.

"Casualty reports, Doctor." He asked.

"Twelve dead, fifty-three injured. Rahda has been treated and released to her quarters. Her arm is in a sling and it should heal in about a week. The other four crewmembers that were killed all fell to the bottom of the warp core. Quincy is the most seriously injured of all the survivors. The survivors from the Defiant are recovering and resting comfortably in the rec room, including Pavel's counterpart from the other universe."

As she spoke, their Chekov stirred and groaned. He found that the room was spinning and he tried to sit up, soon realizing that that was a mistake. His eyes then focused on the young pretty nurse who was attending him. She spoke in a gentle whisper.

"Sir, can you hear me? How's your head?"

"_Da,_ I can hear you. Where…ohhh…am I?"

"Sickbay, sir. I'm Nurse Bennett. I can give you a shot if your head hurts."

"No, you little dweeb. I just like moaning and groaning a lot!" Pavel said a bit irritably.

Petrova was at his side in a few seconds and noticed the crestfallen look on the ensign's face. Chekov addressed the chief medical officer worriedly. "The ship...out of danger?"

"Try not to take what he says personally, Ensign. It's the injury talking, not him. Yes, Pavel, the ship is out of danger." She turned to the young nurse. "Give him twenty CC's of Numinol and ten CC's of Naproxen. That should ease the pressure from the swelling and give him some pain relief. Next time, Nurse, be sure to use the K3 indicator to assess a patient's pain."

"Acknowledged." Bennett said, a bit embarrassed and humiliated. She had forgotten about the indicator, what with all the things she was worried about. Even though she tried not to take what Chekov said personally, her eyes filled with tears. She didn't let them drop, however. Much later, in her quarters, though, still worried about Cameron and frightened by the nothingness out of her port window, she cried herself to sleep, the tensions of the day still fresh in her mind. She realized that she was still in love with Cameron, despite his backward twentieth century attitudes, and she was quite worried about him and what awaited the crew in this blackness.


	6. The Visitation

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter six

It was early the next morning when Leila's intercom went off. She awoke with a start, and then sighed. Shaking her head, she looked at her blue uniform that she had placed on a chair in her quarters the previous night, trying not to look at the blackness out her port window. She had had a very strange dream the night before. A stranger dressed in a twentieth century business suit by the name of Gary Seven had appeared in her quarters in the wee hours, asking her to help First Officer Chekov recover his memory of his evil brother. She recalled how frightened she had been at the stranger's first appearance, but he seemed to have a calming effect as he continued to talk with her. He explained that Pavel was his friend and that the void was an area between universes, and that the laws of time, space and physics did not apply. He told her that it was his doing when things started to fly across the room. He had been the one who had placed both ships in the void, and dispensed with the Tholians, returning them to where they belonged. He was trying to manipulate time, matter and space so that he could better communicate with her. Unfortunately, he had tweaked things too far, and the Tholians complicated matters when they fired on the Defiant, causing the disaster that befell both ships. She then wondered why she was chosen. The first officer seemed to hate her, and she found that it was going to be very difficult to approach him. Seven then offered her a way out of the void in exchange for her help, and assured her that Chekov didn't hate anyone. It was his job to maintain a sort of professional distance between himself and lower ranking individuals. Leila was asked to write down some coordinates for the navigator in the Auxiliary Control room, in order to steer them out of the void. She did so, and placed the information on her night stand before quickly drifting off back to sleep.

Leila yawned and stretched as she walked over to the wall intercom. She knew it was going to be another busy day, and was still puzzled over the very strange and vivid dream she had, recalling every detail of it.

"Bennett here," She responded, glad that there wasn't two-way visual communication. She probably looked a sight.

"Good morning, Ensign." A familiar female voice greeted warmly. "This is Doctor Petrova. I want you to do me a favor."

"Anything, Doctor."

"Good girl. I want you to escort Ms. Rahda to sickbay for a follow-up visit. I want to make sure that her arm has been properly set. I know your quarters are close to hers, and she is probably awake by now."

"Will do, Ma'am. I have to freshen up and get dressed first."

"By all means, Ensign. Take your time. However, please get here by zero eight hundred. I will need you to help with the many other casualties we have."

"Yes, Doctor." She paused, then remembering Quincy. "Is Cameron conscious yet?"

"Not yet, but he will be soon. Try not to worry. I just upgraded his condition to serious."

When their conversation ended, Leila stepped into her washroom. She took out her French braids from her golden blonde shoulder-length hair. She brushed her hair and put it in a simple pony tail. She then washed her face and stepped into her shower. After a refreshing soak, she stepped out, curiosity about the previous night getting the best of her. As she picked up her PADD from her nightstand, to her astonishment, the coordinates that the mysterious stranger had given to her to escape the black void were there. Realizing now that it had not been a dream after all, she wondered about what had happened the night before a little, figuring that perhaps Lt. Rahda could help her decipher the stranger's coordinates. Perhaps she could also accompany her to the Auxiliary Control room to verify her story about the mysterious Mr. Seven. She knew that it would take some time for the maintenance crew to repair Cameron's station on the bridge and that the navigator on duty would probably be there. Quickly, she donned her blue uniform, fixed her hair, and complied with the chief medical officer's orders.

As she and Rahda stepped into sickbay, she found that the first officer was sitting up, looking only slightly better than the day before. Rahda had agreed to go with her after her visit to sickbay. Leila tried not to stare at the first officer. He didn't look much better than when he was brought in yesterday, but he was conscious and somewhat alert. However, he also had a worried and puzzled look on his face. Petrova explained that he could not remember his biting remark the day before, and that, even so, he wanted to apologize. She was certainly no dweeb, but a qualified member of the medical staff. She was only doing her job, and he could remember how he felt as an ensign when he was barked at by a superior officer. The experience could not have been pleasant for her, either. He noticed her blush as he smiled at her.

"Ensign, please come here. I wish to say I'm very sorry for embarrassing you yesterday."

She complied and smiled back at him shyly.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. Apology accepted." She looked at his overhead readings, recalling what the doctor said. Hypos filled with pain medication had been set out at each patient's bedside, and she gave him a shot, noticing that the K3 readings were still pretty high. "However, I admit it was a pretty stupid question."

He looked into her beautiful face for a moment.

"Not at all, Ensign." Pavel responded graciously. "Petrova explained that you were just checking for brain damage…You remind me of another nurse on the Enterprise, Miss Bennett. She also has a crush on the first officer. I am very flattered, but I know you already have a boyfriend. Besides, I'm way too old for you."

She giggled nervously as Rahda piped up.

"Frankly, Mr. Chekov, I don't understand what Chapel sees in him."

"He's not so bad once you get to know him, Naomi. He kind of grows on you after a while."

"Yeah, like a fungus." They all chuckled as the captain entered sickbay, giving them all a polite nod.

"Mr. Chekov" Leila addressed the first officer, "Last night I was visited by a weird guy dressed in a twentieth century business suit in my quarters. He gave me navigation coordinates to escape this black void. He said his name was Gary Seven. Do you know him, sir?"

Chekov had a puzzled and a rather blank look on his face as the captain pulled her away from his bedside. It was obvious to her that the first officer was struggling to remember something.

"Ensign, come with me. You too, Rahda. I need to discuss this matter with the both of you in private. Excuse us, Doctor. You will have your nurse back shortly."

"Yes, sir." Petrova answered curiously, looking over at Naomi. "Go ahead, Naomi. Your arm is properly set." The doctor then glanced at Chekov and then back at Terrell with wonder as the captain half-pushed Leila out into the corridor, Rahda following closely behind.


	7. Job Security

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter Seven

Roberta Lincoln was growing more and more concerned, uneasy and suspicious of her extended vacation. Nobody she knew had so much time off from work at one time during the year. She was getting increasingly worried about her job security. She surmised that Isis knew more than what she let on and was devising ways to keep her occupied and was running out of ideas on how to keep her away. At this moment in time, they were both seated at a soda fountain in the back of a drug store on the block where she lived. Isis was, of course, in human form. She was enjoying her first root beer float while Roberta opted for a chocolate malt. Roberta knew that chocolate was toxic to cats, but then, Isis wasn't really a cat. However, her alien shape shifter companion showed a look of disgust on her face when Roberta suggested she try one. Isis was curious about another Earth drink called root beer. She thought that the beverage had a strange name; there was neither a root nor beer in it. Also, Roberta told her that the drink was delicious, so Isis decided to try it. Being that sodas and malts cost around twenty cents in the late sixties, and Mr. Seven paid her quite well, Roberta did not mind treating her new friend. Roberta was glad by her alien friend's positive reaction to the bubbly drink, but she decided to get right down to business.

"Isis…."

"Yes, Roberta?" The alien woman responded smoothly. She knew what Roberta was about to ask.

"I want you to level with me. Why doesn't Mr. Seven want me to return to work? Is he thinking of canning me?"

Isis looked a little startled for a moment, thinking that she was asking if Mr. Seven was going to kill her and put her in a can. Then, she remembered the vernacular of the time period they were in.

"Canning you? Certainly not! He cares for you and wants to keep you safe."

"Safe from what?" Roberta asked, dipping a spoon into her malt and taking a bite of ice cream.

"He does not want you to worry about Pavel. You might transport yourself into a dangerous situation and he does not want you to be hurt."

Roberta's necklace glowed in the overhead light and from the sunshine streaming in through the drug store windows. It was early fall and she had decided to wear her favorite outfit: the pink and orange striped dress with the matching cape and black sash. Roberta stared at her new friend with sudden concern.

"Pavel has been hurt, hasn't he?"

"To be honest…yes, he has." Roberta touched her shoulder.

"How badly? What happened to him?"

"He has suffered a concussion. However," Isis's voice lowered to a whisper when she noticed that the other patrons were staring at them. Some were glaring, knowing that the two women just uttered a Russian name. "He will recover." She decided to tell her telepathically that the other patrons were eyeing them suspiciously, suspecting them of being communists or Russian spies and that it was best to finish their drinks quickly and vacate the premises or halt their conversation and continue it elsewhere. Roberta picked up on the baleful looks of the other customers as well and concurred. They went back to Roberta's apartment.

"Isis," Roberta addressed her new alien friend as she turned the key to her apartment, "I appreciate Mr. Seven's concern about my safety, and I remember how scary that planet I was on was, but I'm a big girl. This extended vacation is kind of ridiculous."

"I understand, Roberta. I admire your work ethic. However, Pavel's current assignment is very dangerous and you should not involve yourself in a twenty-third century matter."

"But what if—"Isis grabbed her shoulders.

"Stay out of this, Roberta! Try not to worry about Pavel or your job. When Seven needs you, he will call you back."

On the Reliant in the twenty-third century, Captain Terrell shoved a startled Miss Bennett into the nearest briefing room, Naomi Rahda quickly following behind, worried about the way the captain was acting towards the sweet young nurse, but could do nothing because of her injury. The captain ordered the computer to secure the doors before he spoke.

"Ladies, where did you hear that name?"

"What name, sir?" Leila asked fearfully, unsure of his intentions.

"Where did you hear the name Gary Seven?"

"He appeared in my quarters last night, sir, and introduced himself."

"That's impossible, Ensign! Mr. Seven is from the twentieth century! Now, I want the truth!"

"Sir," Rahda answered instead, "Miss Bennett is not a liar. I believe he did appear in her quarters last night. She showed me the navigation coordinates that the man provided to get out of this black void. Why are you so upset?"

"Because Starfleet has made this man's existence top secret! Only starship captains and higher ranks know of him. There is no way that either of you could know about him. Now, I want the truth!"

"And you shall have it, Captain Terrell." A male voice responded from directly behind him. The two women gasped and Leila smiled, recognizing him immediately. He was still dressed in the same suit he was wearing when they first met. He smiled back at her and winked.

"Who are you?" The startled captain of the USS Reliant asked, noticing his attire as well.

"I am Supervisor 194, code-named Gary Seven. I have come to save Miss Bennett's job and her reputation. I did appear in her quarters last night,Captain. I want her to help Pavel recover his memory about his evil brother from the alternate reality and to help you and the Defiant get out of this black void. I also came to warn you that your ship is too close to our hidden power base here." Seven noticed the astonished looks on the women's faces. Apparently, they did not know that First officer Chekov had a brother and that he was from the other universe.

"So what you are saying is that the Reliant is drifting. Where is this base you speak of?"

"It is right behind your port nacelle, Captain. Please have your navigator Mr. Beckwith in the Auxiliary Control room move the ship forward before you run into it. Put a tractor beam on the Defiant as well. There is a very great danger that if you do run into it, the base will be destroyed and the fabric of space and time will be destroyed as well. I would advise you to hurry, sir."

With an astonished and amazed look on his face that the stranger who called himself Gary Seven knew the name of the head navigator, the captain went to the wall intercom.

"Lieutenant Beckwith, this is the captain. Put a tractor beam on the Defiant and move the ships forward one parsec immediately."

"Sir?" Beckwith answered, sounding puzzled.

"Just do it!"

"Aye, sir. Moving them now."

"Thank you, Captain." Seven said with relief when Terrell switched off the link to the man in the Auxiliary Control room. "Now I must return to the base and check for damages from the Tholian attack. One question before I leave, though: Why is my existence classified?"

"UESPA didn't go into any detail about it, sir, but I think it has something to do with the security of the Federation and yours."

"That sounds logical, Captain. If any of the species that are hostile to the Federation get wind of our existence, they could put an end to the peace and safety of everyone in this era and jeopardize Earth's future as well. The coordinates I gave to your nurse will get you out of here and back to where you belong. Good day, Captain, ladies." The stranger disappeared in a blue mist before they could respond in kind.

"Ladies, this is an order: There will be no discussion about this with anyone. Mr. Seven's existence must be kept classified. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir! My lips are sealed." Nurse Bennett replied quickly, still smiling a little. Rahda acknowledged his order with a nod. The intercom buzzer went off.

"Petrova to Captain Terrell. Please inform Nurse Bennett that Mr. Quincy has regained consciousness. He is asking to see her."

"Acknowledged, Doctor. She will be there in a few minutes. Terrell out." He turned to the two women. "Remember ladies, don't breathe a word of this to anyone! Dismissed."


	8. How Rahda Got Promoted

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter Eight

Nurse Bennett wondered how she was going to explain to Dr. Petrova why she was hauled away from sickbay so abruptly by the captain after mentioning the name of her new acquaintance. She knew that the doctor had heard the name Gary Seven and wondered how she was going to put the cat back into the bag. She needn't have worried. The doctor gave her a gentle smile as she stepped through the threshold, the doors to sickbay softly swishing shut behind her.

"Welcome back, Ensign. What was that all about?"

"I am under orders not to discuss my nocturnal visitor, Ma'am." Leila answered nervously, glancing furtively over at her boyfriend, who was now sitting up, his head resting on his pillow, his eyes closed. He was looking better now that the doctor had used a new medical instrument on his burns called a dermal regenerator. However, he was still pale and weak, still with a bandage around his head. Leila knew it would be quite a while before he was back on his feet again.

"I see." Petrova answered. "One of the captain's many fairy folk we mere underlings aren't supposed to know about. I quite understand." Petrova noticed her glancing at her significant other. "Go ahead. He's waiting for you. However… talk with him ten minutes tops. He's still in a bad way and needs to rest."

"Understood, Doctor." She looked into the face of her superior curiously, a slightly bemused expression forming on hers. "Fairy folk?"

"That's what I like to call them. They are certain entities and individuals whom he knows whose existence have been classified by Starfleet Command. I am privy to some, but also have been ordered to keep silent about them."

"I see. That's very interesting."

The doctor gestured towards Cameron with a smile as she returned to caring for the other injured crewmembers. "When you get finished with your little visit with Quincy, I want you to go to the rec room triage center and check on the progress of Pavel's brother and the others."

"Yes, Ma'am." She responded with a bit of fear and uncertainty. She had heard how violent and evil those from the other universe were. She had also heard that the other Chekov had sustained a severe concussion as well, and also had three broken ribs and a fractured ankle. His wife and science officer, whose name was Irina, had been one of two who were killed during the Tholian attack. The remainder of the uninjured crewmembers of the ISS Defiant had been assigned guest quarters; among them their chief of security, Commander Sulu, who had been the one who had asked for their assistance after the attack. Doctor Petrova had asked him if she could do anything about his scar on the right side of his face and asked him how he had acquired it. He told her that he got it in a bar fight on their Space Station K-7 and that it gave him such a tough, mean look that almost nobody had guts enough to cross him. The scar had helped him to get a reputation as a tough hombre, not to be tangled with. He didn't want her to do anything to it. The scar worked in this universe too. Out of all the Defiant survivors, he was the one who made them all the most uneasy.

"Don't worry." Petrova told her, knowing that the head nurse, a Deltan male named Kamdar, and some security people would also be there along with the orderlies who had appeared on the bridge after the shock wave hit. "They probably won't bite…hard."

Leila grinned. "Oh, that makes me feel much better."

Pavel Chekov heard the last exchange, chuckled softly in amusement, and winced with pain from his head injury before drifting back to sleep.

Before Miss Bennett returned to her post, she had gone back to her quarters to give the captain the coordinates to escape the void. Ms. Rahda returned to her quarters, clutching a bottle of pain pills in her left hand that the nurse had given to her. Captain Terrell headed for the Auxiliary Control room, at the same time quickly thinking of a way to explain to the man inside how he had acquired the coordinates without giving away the existence of Gary Seven. He then smiled as he thought of Rahda. He would say that she thought of them. If they didn't work, he would at least have someone to blame. If they did work, he would promote her to Lieutenant Commander. Also, there would be no trouble for Rahda to open the pill bottle she had been given with one hand, being that there was no need for child-proof caps on a starship full of adults. He had quietly ordered Security to post guards at sensitive areas on the ship, just in case their "guests" had any ideas of causing any mischief. A few of them were being given a guided tour, under the watchful eye of their chief of security, Lt. Commander Roger Dixson. The two guards at the entrance to Auxiliary Control stood at attention at his approach.

"At ease, gentlemen." Terrell ordered, pressing the door buzzer. "Save it for the bad guys." They complied somewhat, looking a little tense, but amused by the captain's sense of humor. Apparently, they had heard how fierce the people from the other universe could be as well and were prepared. They watched as he entered and then assumed their stances.

Mr. Beckwith stood at attention as the captain entered. Terrell knew that he was curious as to why he ordered that the ship was to be moved one parsec, being that nothing could be seen in the void and the proximity sensors did not seem to be working.

"At ease, Mr. Beckwith." As the head navigator reseated himself, Terrell handed him the PADD with the supplied coordinates, hoping he wouldn't notice that the device was a medical one. "I have a present for you. This is from Lieutenant Rahda. It contains coordinates she believes will get us out of the black void."

"Thank you, sir. How is Lieutenant Rahda? I heard she was hurt on the bridge."

"She has a broken arm and a concussion but she should be all right in about a week."

"I'm so glad." He said with a smile. Beckwith studied the notes on the PADD and his eyebrows furrowed. The captain, startled, knew that he recognized the device as being from medical. He would have to think fast.

"I know it's on a medical PADD, but Ms. Rahda's was damaged during the disaster. She was being treated by Nurse Bennett when she thought of these coordinates."

"I see. They are brilliant, Captain…worthy of a Medusan. I think they will work."

"Wait until I'm back on the bridge and then give them a try."

"Sir, I am wondering about something…"

"What's that, Lieutenant?"

"Why did you ask us to move the ship? It's like nighttime in Raymond, Mississippi out there." The captain knew that Beckwith was from the town he mentioned. He told him it was so dark at night that a person could not see his or her hand in front of their faces. Because most liked it that way, street lights were never installed. Raymond became a star gazers' Heaven, since there was no light pollution to obscure the night sky.

"I had a hunch that there was something in the way. I was just playing it safe." The captain found that he was becoming a most accomplished liar. Beckwith bought it.

Leila approached her boyfriend's bedside. He stirred as she took his hand and smiled at her weakly.

"Well, if it isn't my little angel of mercy…." He squinted at her, his vision fuzzy without his glasses. "I…thought you were mad at me."

"I was." She said, glancing at his overhead readings. "I forgive you, even if you are a tribble brain."

"I suppose I had that coming." He said, feeling a twinge of pain from his head injury and groaning softly. "What…happened to me?"

"You got hurt on the bridge when that shock wave hit."

"I was…hurt?"

"Yes, indeed you were. I have been so worried about you, Cameron. You almost died." Tears formed in her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too, honey." He peered at her and groaned as his head started to ache and the room started to spin. "I…should not have said what I did. Your…job is as important to you as mine is to me. I…I'm…sorry." He squeezed her hand, partly with affection and partly to keep his equilibrium. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes, Cameron!" Leila answered with astonishment but without hesitation. She paused, however, wondering if his proposal was the result of his brain injury or if it was genuine. "I have to go now. Dr. Petrova has ordered me to go into the lion's den in the rec room. Get some rest. I will hopefully be back later."

Cameron smiled as she gave him a peck on the cheek, not really knowing what she meant, but very content that she accepted his proposal as he drifted back to sleep.


	9. The Opportunist

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter Nine

Security chief Sulu of the ISS Defiant didn't envy Captain Piotr's position and, contrary to popular belief among the crew, wasn't about to assassinate him. There had been unflattering subspace chatter about the recently promoted captain's status for months and Sulu was certain his friend knew what people were saying behind his back. He was being called "Captain Dunsel, Mark Two"; in command of a starship that was not even technically theirs, with only eighteen people left alive to command after the seemingly unprovoked Tholian attack. There was only one woman left in their crew now: a young nurse on her first tour of duty named Bennett, who was a dead ringer for the young lady of the same name in this reality. Sulu knew that she was head over heels in love with their young captain Chekov, and was jealous enough of his wife to do her in. He surmised that that was what she probably did. Ordinarily, Sulu would have tried to assassinate Piotr, since he wanted a ship of his own and it was standard Empire procedure to kill someone as badly injured as their Chekov. However, he and Piotr had been friends ever since the Five Year Conquering Mission and since he mentioned something about giving the Defiant back to the Starfleet in this reality, he thought it would be rather pointless to kill him. There would be other starships to command or to take over and he liked his friend and partner in crime. Also, they were all grateful enough to be rescued from the badly damaged Defiant so that they were not even considering taking over the Reliant. In addition to that, one look at the ever-present scowling security men convinced them all to be on their best behavior, according to this universe's standards. They were hopelessly outnumbered as well, and knew if they did try anything, they would all be thrown into the brig, or worse. As he pondered these things, he stepped into the recreation room. He smiled wickedly as their young nurse tensed up, her hand resting on her holstered sidearm. He thought she was a luscious little thing, and rather fancied her himself. He admired her ambition to be the captain's woman, even though he thought it was a pity that Irina had been killed. The captain's wife would have enjoyed her as well.

Leila entered the rec room, still uneasy about dealing with this nefarious bunch from the alternate universe. As she and her counterpart locked eyes, they stared at each other with astonishment for a moment. The counterpart was standing beside the other Chekov's cot, one hand resting on a holstered phaser, which hung on a golden sash around her waist, and the other holding a medical scanner. Piotr was still unconscious. The other Leila's blue uniform was cut into two parts, looking more like a bikini than a uniform. Leila could see a jeweled dagger sticking out of the top part of her left boot. After her initial surprise at seeing her goody-two shoes counterpart, the other Leila smiled impishly.

"Close your mouth or you will catch flies, dear." She looked Leila over like she was a prize turkey ready for Thanksgiving. "If you don't mind my saying, that's a bland uniform. No style to it at all."

"Perhaps," Leila answered evenly, catching her breath. "But I'm not about to enter a fashion show. I have been ordered to check on all of you down here." The alternate version of herself noticed her eyes on the captain.

"Do I have competition? If so, I will fight you for him." The alternate Leila had pulled her phaser out of its holster. The security guards saw her do it, gave her a warning glance, and brandished theirs.

"Put your weapon back, please. There is no need for that." Leila said quickly. "I have just recently become engaged to another man. You have no competition."

To their relief, the alternate Leila smiled like the grinch who stole Christmas. "I'm glad. Congratulations. On my side, I have to take what I can get." She was about to put her phaser back when Sulu walked in. Her eyes narrowed with contempt. She knew that he had designs on her, and that he was probably there to assassinate the captain.

"Relax, Ms. Bennett. I have not come to kill Piotr."

"What are you doing here?"

"Merely visiting, my dear. I see you two have met." He looked at their Leila lustfully, but because of the captain's orders, controlled himself. "You still have no interest in me, adorable? What does Piotr have that I don't?" He put his fingers under her chin and she turned her face away.

"Class, for one thing." She responded courageously. Her counterpart stared at them a little fearfully, hoping that she was not going to get mixed up in a fight. "Also, he is a starship captain. I want to be his woman."

Sulu smiled cunningly and with amusement. "You killed Irina, didn't you?"

"No, I did not. The Tholians did it for me. I had too much respect for Irina to murder her. I also did not have the opportunity or much of a motive."

"I don't appeal to you at all? I could make you very…satisfied."

"With all due respect, sir, you appeal to me as much as a plate of half dead Klingon gagh." The other Leila did not know what that was, but was too afraid to ask. " I am not interested in your caveman mentality. I love Piotr, not you. And if you make any attempt to kill him, you will not get back to our reality alive."

The intercom went off as she uttered the last sentence, Sulu chuckled with amusement, and they all heard Captain Terrell's voice from the bridge.

"_Attention…guests. Because your chief engineer was also killed during the Tholian attack, our engineer and her surviving staff have been making repairs on the Defiant. We are ready to make an attempt to escape the black void. We do not know where the coordinates we obtained will bring us, but with any luck, we will not encounter any more hostile forces. I will let you know if we are successful. Terrell out."_

Mr. Seven had completed the necessary checks and repairs to his hidden base. He paused for a moment, giving the instruments one last look before stepping into his time transporter. There was something not quite right about the coordinates he had provided, but he could not quite figure out what. Then, he gasped and mentally kicked himself, knowing the danger that he had put the Reliant crew in. Being he had no time to contact them again, and they were probably out of range anyway, he hoped that they would be all right as he dematerialized.


	10. Hell Hath No Fury

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter ten

To everyone's relief, the coordinates that were provided to the head navigator in the auxiliary control room worked. They all watched and some smiled as the stars began to reappear, most believing the falsehood that the injured lady helmsperson had been the one to come up with the coordinates that had gotten them out of the black void between universes. The navigation station was now repaired and functioning and Beckwith was at the controls. The Defiant was still in tow, even though its engines and systems were now fully operational. Since they didn't want any trouble from the new M6 unit, that remained off. However, soon their relief was replaced with concern and wonder. No one knew where they were.

"Helm, full stop and hold our position here…wherever this is."

"Aye, sir. Coming to a full stop." The helmsman who was replacing Rahda answered quickly. His name was George Benson. He was a tall stocky man in his mid-thirties, with thick wavy ear-length dark brown hair. According to the women on the ship, he wasn't very handsome, but had a good personality. The captain didn't really care about looks or personality, but appreciated his intelligence. Terrell looked at the navigator, impressed with his crew's repairs to both the Defiant and the navigation station.

"Mr. Beckwith, what's our position?"

"Unknown, sir. There is no recognizable pattern to the configuration of the stars."

"In other words, we're lost."

"Affirmative, sir."

"Well" Terrell responded with a sigh, "We might as well stay put until we figure out where we are." The captain stood and took one last look at the main viewing screen. "I will be in sickbay, checking on our people. Let me know immediately of any new developments or if and when you can pinpoint where the heck we are."

"Acknowledged, sir."

Captain Piotr Chekov was dreaming of the first time that he met his wife Irina. She was with a group of hippie-like misfits, who were looking for the mythical planet Eden. They were both ensigns at the time and did more than talk while they were in the auxiliary control room, assisting an amused Mr. Spock with locating the planet Eden. Piotr had gotten her pregnant, and, of course, their Kirk had ordered her to get an abortion, scolding them for their indiscretion. He very nearly court martialled the two of them when they refused to obey his order. They decided to marry soon after that so that they could circumvent the captain's order to terminate the pregnancy. Piotr's son Dmytri was staying with his paternal grandparents on their Earth, since children were not allowed on starships.

As he awakened, Piotr found that their Miss Bennett was bending over him, an expectant and somewhat eager look on her young face.

"Ensign…why are you hovering over me like a vulture?" He winced as his head injury began to throb.

"Your wife is dead, sir, killed by the Tholians. Since I am the only woman left in our crew, I am claiming my right to be your Captain's Woman."

"You are being rather presumptuous, Ensign. Besides, you know from our regulations that you are too young. Hell's bells, girl… my wife isn't even cold yet! You should give me time to grieve. Also, you know very well that you have to be at least the rank of lieutenant before you can claim the title of Captain's Woman."

"I know that, sir. However, since we are no longer in our universe, I was hoping you would overlook that. Also, you could promote me."

"I could but I won't. You are not worthy to be my Captain's Woman." Piotr said contemptuously, his eyes narrowing. Then, his expression softened when he noticed tears forming in her eyes. "Go help these good people in their sickbay with their injured and leave me alone to mourn."

"Yes, sir." She whispered, embarrassed. She turned away so he could not see her tears. Then, turning angry at being scorned and rejected, she savagely wiped them away, an evil plan hatching in her mind as she eyed the other Leila. She had been told that her counterpart's boyfriend and fiancé was the one who had been critically injured when the shock wave occurred. Glad that her counterpart could not read her mind, she headed for the Reliant's sickbay.

Terrell had been informed that the other Nurse Bennett had been ordered to assist Dr. Petrova with their casualties. He had also ordered theirs to stay where she was for the time being. Dr. Petrova had no real objection to the young Bennett counterpart assisting with their casualties, but insisted that she don a real regulation Starfleet uniform, knowing that some of her patients might object to a half-naked strumpet or become stressed in her presence. The other Leila smiled, knowing that donning one of their uniforms would work to her advantage. She could pretend to be her sweet little counterpart and snag a husband at the same time. As she put the drab uniform on, she decided to keep her holstered dagger in her boot, thinking that most would not notice it and that it might come in handy.

Lt. Commander Pavel Chekov awakened to find his captain at his bedside.

"Sir…"

"At ease…Pavel." He observed his first officer wince with pain from his head injury. "That's what you get for slouching at your station."

"Very funny…sir. The person who designed the Constitution class starship bridge should be phasered." He paused and looked at his captain. "Are we out of the void?"

"Yes, we are. However, we are holding our position until we can figure out our location. We are in an unfamiliar area of space."

Pavel tried to sit up, but was hit with a wave of dizziness. He sank back to where he had been.

"If I were on the bridge, I could probably figure it out."

"I doubt it, Lieutenant Commander. Also, you are in no condition to be figuring anything out. Just concentrate on getting well." Pavel nodded and closed his eyes.

The other Leila entered sickbay just as the captain finished his sentence. She was planning on killing her captain's counterpart, but she could not get past Terrell. She was ordered to attend to Quincy, and she happily complied. Turning on the charm, she attempted to seduce him, but he saw the jewels in her dagger as they sparkled from the overhead lights. He knew that a dagger was not Starfleet issue and that she was an imposter. As he spurned her advances, he saw her reach for it.

"Captain…Get this creature away from me!" Quincy screamed.

The captain raced to his side and grabbed her wrist just as she was about to plunge the dagger into Quincy's chest, forcing her to drop the knife. He then ordered security to take her to the brig. As he did so, the red alert alarm sounded.

"What now?" He said softly. He strode to the nearest wall intercom. "Terrell here. What's going on?"

"Sir, this is Blackwing! A wormhole has suddenly appeared and is drawing both ships into it! We are unable to break free!"


	11. Through the Wormhole

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 11

"Captain…" The voice of his communications officer sounded shocked, strained and worried. "You'd better get up here."

"On my way, Lieutenant." Frowning, the captain looked back at poor Quincy, who had obviously fainted from fright and watched as the alternate Leila was shoved out of sickbay by two burly security men. They had confiscated her dagger and her phaser and put her in handcuffs. "Will he be all right, Doctor?"

"He's in deep shock, sir, and because of his weakened condition, such a shock could have been as deadly as that dagger. I think I can pull him through, though."

"I have to get back to the bridge. Take care of him and keep me informed of his condition."

"Understood, sir." She watched as Terrell started to leave. "And, sir..."

"Yes?"

"Please keep the rest of these Denebian slime devils out of my sickbay."

Terrell smiled a little, but there was still worry and concern on his face as he nodded in agreement. He headed back to the bridge.

There was a reason why the alternate Leila had attacked the already injured navigator, besides the fact that she was angry at her captain and she was a bit mentally unbalanced. She thought at first that the navigator was her ex-lover, who had deserted her on their wedding day, and had somehow escaped into this alternate universe. She had vowed if she ever found him again, she would make him pay for that. However, when she saw the terrified look on his counterpart's face, she knew then that it wasn't him. It was too late, though. She knew that attempted murder on this side was considered a serious crime and she was ready to accept her fate. She gasped and stood at attention as the chief of security approached her cell. He was holding her actual uniform in his right hand. However, there was fire in his eyes.

"At ease, Ensign. Terrell told me what you did. Why did you try and kill that officer?"

"I thought he was my ex-lover, sir." She answered softly. "However, the moment I saw the fear in his eyes I realized I was mistaken. Have you come to let me out of here?"

"No, Ensign. You disobeyed a direct order from your captain to be on your best behavior, according to their standards while in this universe. While we are here in this universe, we will abide by their rules of conduct. You committed a very serious crime, Ensign…one worthy of death. You almost killed an innocent man. That deed cannot go unpunished."

"You are going to kill me?"

"I'm here to give you a choice between two options." Chief of security Sulu started to pace, seemingly choosing his words carefully. She did not see the devious smile on his face as he turned it from her view. "From time to time, we employ Klingon executioners. If you choose death, you will be killed in the most heinous way imaginable. First, they will shackle you naked and spread eagled onto a cold metal table. Then, he will take his _dahkta*_ and disembowel you. After that, he will rip out your little heart from your chest and eat it raw. The Klingons will then throw what's left of you out of the nearest airlock."

Her eyes grew wide with horror. She started to shudder, her voice faltering.

"Wh-what's my other choice?"

"Life with me, free from any prosecution for any future crime you may commit. However, you will be my slave as well as my wife." He said with an evil smirk, licking his lips lustfully. "If you choose that option, I will grant you one request as a wedding present."

"I do not wish to die in such a horrible fashion." She paused for a moment, shuddering, looking into the scarred battle-worn face of her superior officer. "I…w-will marry you…on one condition."

Sulu smiled again, seemingly enjoying her horrified expression.

"Name it."

"G-get your sc-scar fixed, so I can stand to look at you for the rest of my life."

"Is that your request?" He asked silkily.

She nodded, her pupils dilated. Sulu was satisfied to see the fear on her face and that she was trembling.

"Easily done, my dear. I will set the date." As he gave the extended arm salute, he had the security man present lower the force field long enough to throw her uniform in. She did not see his malevolent smile as he walked out of the brig. She then held her face in her hands and sobbed, not wanting to marry him, for she still considered him to be very ugly. However, since the alternative was a gruesome death, she felt she had no choice but to accept his proposal. She saw that the security guard was looking her over curiously as she wiped her tears with her trembling hands and picked up her real uniform. She glowered at him.

"Do you mind asswipe? I would like to get out of this ridiculous costume."

The guard grinned like a Jack-o-lantern and looked the other way as she tore the Starfleet uniform off and put on her own. She wished she had some sort of defensive weapon, just in case Sulu decided to get frisky before their wedding. She had left her agonizer on the Defiant and realized now that she was utterly defenseless.

As the captain entered the bridge, he saw that they had passed through the mysterious wormhole. They were now facing some sort of alien space station.

"What is that?"

"Sir" Blackwing answered from his station. "That looks like a Cardassian space base. I think I recognize the configuration. Sir! They are hailing us!"

"Put them on screen."

The people in Ops on Deep Space Nine stared with incredulity and astonishment at the two Constitution class starships that had just emerged from the Bajoran wormhole. The captain knew that these two starships had been missing for almost a century. The first one they saw was the Reliant, lost in the Tholian sector when ordered to establish diplomatic relations with the aliens. The other starship in tow was even more of a legend than the first: missing in that sector and presumed destroyed, and bearing the name of their newly built runabout. Captain Sisko was even more astounded when he saw that someone had painted the letters "ISS" before the starship's name. Major Kira groaned in disgust as she realized that it came from the alternate universe, but Worf soon pointed out that the starship was definitely the one that was lost almost a century ago, recognizing the ship's warp signature. However, how the ships got here was a complete mystery to the Deep Space Nine crew, being that the Reliant and the Defiant disappeared in a sector that was over three hundred light years away from their current position.

"Hail them, Mr. Worf." Captain Benjamin Sisko ordered, still staring at the strange sight of two antique starships that looked brand new, except for obvious battle damage.

His Klingon officer complied quickly.

"No response." He announced, two seconds later.

"Give them time, Worf. Their communications equipment probably does not function as quickly as ours. They might have injured on board as well, judging from the conditions of the two ships. Also, they might be as astonished as we are."

"Acknowledged" Worf said, watching as an image of the captain of the Reliant began to appear. Sisko knew that if these new arrivals were from the past, they were not fond of Klingons, and quickly got in front of him so the crews of the starships couldn't see him.

* A dahkta is the lethal-looking knife used to kill Kirk's son in ST3. It was also named in "Birthright, part 2".


	12. Fear and Loathing on DS9

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 12

Terrell beamed over to the station and sat across from Sisko's desk as he did his best to explain to Captain Sisko who they were and how they managed to get to Deep Space Nine. The captain of the Reliant was unsure if the other captain knew of the existence of Gary Seven, so he decided not to mention him. He just told him about the mysterious wormhole that had drawn them in soon after they left the black void between the two universes in the Tholian sector. Sisko speculated that, because of the vast distance they had traveled, it was possible they went through two consecutive wormholes to arrive here at Deep Space Nine. When shown the star configurations from the Reliant's computer log extract, his assumption proved to be correct. Terrell learned that the wormhole they had first encountered was one called the Barzan wormhole, and that it had somehow temporarily linked with the Bajoran wormhole.

Sisko then agreed to beam their more seriously injured to the station's infirmary, to help Dr. Petrova and her medical staff. By now, most of the less serious cases had recovered enough to be put on light duty. Of course, Sisko was quite leery about letting the crew from the alternate universe roam about freely on the station, and instructed Odo to keep them away from the more sensitive areas and to keep an eye on them. He had learned that a young woman who looked exactly like a member of Petrova's medical staff had committed a serious crime. Odo found the group from the other universe's past to be very interesting, and liked their uniforms. He did ask them to check their weapons at the door, and they complied, after Odo explained that it was the station's policy. He found that he had his work cut out for him.

The alternate Leila was quite unhappy at the prospect of marrying Chief of Security Sulu. This time, when she saw him, she did not stand at attention. Soon, the captain followed. He was on crutches and had a device on his chest to facilitate healing of his fractured ribs. He hobbled in front of Sulu and spoke to her.

"Get on your feet, Ensign, and come with us." Piotr ordered stiffly.

"Why should I?" Leila asked, glaring at Sulu and unwilling to go anywhere with him. She hated him for making her choose between a gruesome death and a life of servitude to him.

"Because you do not belong on this starship. You belong with us. You are a part of our crew and you must comply or be court martialled for insubordination."

Fearing more punishment, but a little glad that the captain was there and that she wouldn't have to face Sulu alone, she reluctantly complied.

After getting better acquainted with their new guests, Sisko ordered Mr. Worf to go on his annual trip to the Bat'leth tournament on Forcus Three. Worf had not intended to go this year, preferring his duties on the station, but when he learned that the new arrivals were from the previous century, he felt it would be in everyone's best interests if he departed. After contacting his brother Kern on subspace to inform him that he would be attending the yearly tournament after all, he went to his quarters to don his Klingon body armor. He carefully removed his bat'leth from its rack on his wall and stepped out of his quarters….

Nurse Bennett had beamed aboard the station with Dr. Petrova. She found the station's chief medical officer to be very kind and he was quite attractive too. The young nurse was now concerned about her fiancés psychological condition. The thought that Cameron might not want anything more to do with her because of the actions of her malevolent counterpart made her very unhappy. Would he now be afraid of her and call off their engagement? She decided to stay out of his line of vision for now. Petrova saw the look on her face and understood her reluctance to approach her sweetheart. She decided to act on her behalf and asked Quincy if he would like to see his fiancé. To her joy and great relief, he said yes. He said that he did not blame her for something that she did not do, and could definitely tell the difference between his lovely bride- to-be and the little monster who tried to kill him.

As Leila happily approached his bedside, they all heard very loud and blood curdling screams….

The alternate Leila was back in hand cuffs and was flanked by two ISS Defiant security guards. She tried not to look at Sulu as she was led into the promenade. Odo looked at her curiously. He had learned that she was about to be married to the security chief named Sulu, and was puzzled about her lack of enthusiasm and joy at the prospect.

"You must be Captain Chekov." Odo greeted, shaking his hand. The alternate Leila was staring at the floor, avoiding Sulu's gaze as much as she could. "Just an observation, but your little bride-to-be does not seem to be too happy. May I ask why?"

"I do not know for sure, Mr… uh…Odo." He looked back at his security officer. "Do you know why, Sulu?"

"I gave her a choice, Piotr." Sulu answered smugly. "She could either marry me or be killed by a Kling…oh, shit!"

There Worf stood, in his full Klingon regalia, with a bat'leth in his hand. Leila looked up and followed Sulu's gaze, turned deathly pale when she saw the weapon, and started screaming in terror, convinced that he was there to kill her anyway, struggled to break free from the grips of the security men, and then collapsed.

"Oh, Sulu!" Captain Piotr said softly, looking down at the poor girl with concern. "You didn't tell her that she would be executed by a Klingon, did you?"

"Yes, I did." Sulu responded calmly. "I did not expect to see one on this station, being that the people on this side are supposed to be at war with them."

"You idiot! We do not employ Klingon executioners on our side anymore! They cannot be trusted! No offense, Mr. Klingon." He added, as Worf approached them and frowned. He was thinking that it would be dishonorable to kill a defenseless woman, and wondered to himself if the Klingons on their side would really do such a thing. Captain Chekov continued his rant. "Also, dummy, Sisko told me that the Klingons and the Federation have been at peace for the last thirty years! Why did you do it?"

"I am not as good looking as you are, Piotr. I can't have every woman I desire. I have to use deception to get them."

"It's Captain Chekov to you, you moron! I told you time and again that your lies would eventually catch up with you! How many women have you done this to?" He asked the question with a twinge of anger.

"At last count, five, including her. Most found out that it was a deception, of course. I usually pick a young one, for they are more naive. I didn't really think she would fall for it."

"Well, she did. Is she all right, Doctor?"

Bashir had been summoned during their conversation and had given her a small dose of cordrazine to stabilize her condition. He shook his head.

"No, she's not. She has suffered a coronary. I have to get her to the infirmary right away."


	13. The Brothers Meet

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 13

Author note: Thanks very much for the information for the Russian in this chapter, Dmytro!

Captain Piotr politely asked Constable Odo to remove the young woman's handcuffs and place them on Sulu. The shape shifter quickly and compassionately complied, noticing that in her horrified and panicked struggle to break free from the vice-like grip of the Defiant's security men that the metal in the cuffs had damaged her delicate wrists, creating red blotches and bleeding cuts. Piotr watched in puzzlement and then with interest as Doctor Bashir tapped his insignia on his uniform. A woman's voice answered and he quickly ordered her to beam the unfortunate young casualty and himself directly to the station's infirmary. He admonished the captain to try not to worry as he dematerialized in a shower of sparkles. Piotr was very much impressed with the way transporter technology had advanced in a century. The captain then glared angrily at the chief of security.

"I am dropping the charges against our Leila and placing them on you, Sulu. As a chief of security, you leave much to be desired. You certainly did not make her feel very secure. If she survives, she will have the right to declare any sentence she wishes for your punishment, short of execution. If she dies, however, her immediate family has the right to execute you for the crime of murder."

"I know all that and I understand, Captain." Sulu responded softly. He knew that her immediate family consisted of four much older brothers, who were very large, very strong and very protective of their little sister. Her dagger had been a gift from her eldest brother after she shot her father in the back with a T Norev* disrupter after he had murdered their mother with it in a drunken rage. Since it was considered self defense, nobody thought anything of it. Her eldest brother Robert had also sponsored her entry into Starfleet. Sulu knew that if she died, they would certainly exact revenge in a quick and efficient manner.

"Mr. Odo, please take this _urod_ to your brig. I will deal with him later." He turned to Sulu and spat "_Chtob ty sdoh!"_*

"Of course," Odo answered with a slight semblance of a smile, having no idea what the Russian just said, but realizing from the way he said it that it was some kind of Russian insult or curse. He was impressed with their system of justice on the other side, although he could see some avenues for abuses. Of course, every system he knew about was imperfect, but this one seemed the most equitable to him.

Worf still stood there, looking a bit surprised and perplexed that a denizen of the alternate universe would be frightened of anything, especially a Klingon. He gave the alternate Chekov a puzzled look.

"I apologize, Mr. Klingon. The young lady is inexperienced and is as green as Vulcan blood. Mr. Sulu lied to her, telling her that she would be killed by a dahkta for her crime of attempted murder of one of Terrell's men. As an alternative, he offered her a life of servitude, which was only slightly more appealing than a grisly death." He watched as Sulu was taken away to their brig.

"I see. By the way, my name is Worf, not Mr. Klingon." He raised his weapon in the air. The captain backed up slightly, thinking that perhaps he had unintentionally insulted him. "This is a bat'leth, not a dahkta. I would not have harmed her."

"I know …Worf. I knew that, you knew that, but the young lady did not. Why are you dressed like you are going into battle?"

"I am attending a bat'leth tournament." He looked at the spot where she had been moments before. She had looked very young. "I had no wish to scare her."

"Do not worry about it…Worf. She is quite young; only eighteen. It is not your fault. But, please leave at once. The people from the Reliant might be frightened of you as well. They might think that the Klingons have commandeered this station." Piotr said with a smile.

"I quite understand." Worf said, returning it. "If this was the twenty-third century, they would have every right to be worried. I wish your young one Q'apla with her recovery. Good day to you, sir."

"Thanks. You too. Good luck at your tournament."

The Klingon named Worf grinned.

"Luck has nothing to do with it." He bowed slightly, turned and left.

Nurse Bennett and her fiancé looked on with astonishment and interest as the station's doctor materialized inside the infirmary with his new patient. Pavel Chekov had recently been released, even though Terrell knew that he was suffering from partial amnesia, not able to remember his other employer, Mr. Seven. They were presently being given a tour of the station. Chekov was puzzled by the fact that these people on the station looked very familiar. It wasn't long before he realized that they had been on the Enterprise, masquerading as crewmembers during the tribble fiasco. He wondered why they had been there, but decided to ask about it later. Miss Bennett and Quincy also marveled at the advance in transporter technology. Cameron recognized the scream as being from the alternate Leila. It was almost the same as the time he had taken his Leila to New Shakopee along with her parents on Wrigley's Pleasure Planet. The two of them had boarded a new and a very scary roller coaster, and he smiled as he remembered how she screamed and clung to him like a frightened cat. He knew right then that he loved her and wanted to marry her, but they were both still too young. That was two years ago. As he came out of his reverie, he noticed her concerned look on her face. The other Leila had been put on complete life support, an oxygen mask placed on her pale face, her breathing shallow. Dr. Petrova was standing beside her bedside as well, and asked Nurse Leila to assist. She complied quickly, now feeling very sorry for her counterpart, despite her crime. She looked at the readings and knew that she had suffered a heart attack and was in deep shock.

"What happened? Why was she so frightened?"

"She caught a glimpse of our resident Klingon, Mr. Worf." The doctor named Bashir answered, not taking his eyes off of the overhead readouts. "He was dressed in his Klingon finest, carrying a bat'leth. She thought he was going to run her through with it."

Nurse Leila's eyes widened with surprise and horror. It was no wonder the other Leila was so scared.

"You have a Klingon aboard this station?! Aren't you afraid that he will take over and kill you?"

The doctor gave her a slight smile, and shook his head, recalling that these new arrivals were from the previous century.

"Mr. Worf is a Starfleet officer, young lady. He is a part of Odo's security staff."

"The Klingons and the Federation made peace thirty years ago, Ensign." Petrova said, not looking at her, but also looking at their new patient's overhead readouts. "Their Mr. Worf is the first Klingon in Starfleet."

The tour of the station was conducted by Jadzia Dax, whom Chekov recognized as being one of those who had pretended to be Enterprise personnel. He kept giving her furtive glances, his curiosity about their presence on board the Enterprise intensifying. Jadzia knew that he recognized her, so she decided to explain why they had gone back to the twenty-third century. When they had reached the end of their tour, Pavel gasped in astonishment as his eyes met his counterpart's.

Piotr was also given a tour of the station by Major Kira. He knew from her reaction to him and his crew that she was not fond of the people from his universe, having encountered them a few times in the recent past. He now had a hope that these people could help them get back to where they belonged. However, Sisko had given her the order to conduct the tour, and as the first officer of the station, she had to comply. After a while, she grew more comfortable around him, but was still wary, knowing that the people from the alternate reality could be very treacherous. When they rounded a corner near Quark's bar, she gasped in astonishment at Piotr's identical brother.

The two of them stared at each other for a few minutes with equal astonishment.

"You must be Pavel." Piotr said with a grin. "At last I meet my brother." He observed that Pavel looked like he was about to faint. "Are you all right?"

"Fine, thanks." Pavel said, still staring at him in disbelief. "I didn't think you were real. I thought some non-corporeal entity had conjured you up in my mind….Is your first name really Piotr?"

"Yes, it is. At last we meet. I have heard about you all of my life, but I never once thought I would get to meet you."

"You tried to kill my captain…didn't you?"

The other Chekov smiled benignly.

"That's me. Do not fear. I gave orders to my crew to behave themselves while we are here. It is a common practice on our side. We did not realize at the time that your captain was from this reality. Also, I must say that your Uhura fit in quite perfectly in our universe. I enjoyed the way she interacted with our Sulu. He lusts after every woman he encounters. It served him right when she slugged him."

* Veron-T spelled backwards. (The weapon used in the TNG episode "The Most Toys")

** This means "I want you to die like a dog!"


	14. Friendly Fire

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 14

Author note: One of my readers asked about Miles, so he will be in this chapter.

Miss Lincoln's vacation was over. Seven felt that he had the perfect mission for her, despite the fact that she was not yet used to her job. The mission was potentially dangerous, but he felt that she could handle it. Her Q friend had contacted him, telling him that Pavel had partial amnesia; not able to remember his other job as an MIB agent. Even though Isis was not as confident as he about the girl's ability to carry out this mission, he felt that she was able to do it. He decided to let her go into the future to help their friend and fellow agent regain his memory. The Grays had graciously supplied them with a memory enhancing drug in a hypo from the twenty-third century. He was curious about that at first, knowing that the entities preferred to keep a low profile, and usually made people forget their experiences with them. This time it was different. The Grays seemed to want his twenty-third century operative to remember his other job as an undercover intergalactic agent. Also, Roberta seemed most eager and willing to return to work, and because this new assignment had nothing whatever to do with giant spiders, he decided to let her go, despite the potential risks associated with deep space in the distant future and possibly hostile aliens. When she arrived at his New York City 68th street apartment headquarters, he had already replicated a blue and black 24th century Starfleet uniform, along with an authentic-looking "com-badge" with a built-in transponder so he could retrieve her once her mission was successfully completed. Unlike Isis, he had every confidence that his young 20th century agent was capable of completing such a mission with success. It would also be a good experience for her. He admonished her to be careful as he handed her a mini reel-to-reel tape recorder. In the possible event that something would happen to her, she could record a message to the DS9 crew. He let her record it in her own words and voice, smiling with amusement as she called the hypo "needle-less". He had pinpointed a beam-in location on the station that appeared to be uninhabited. She was to make her way unobserved to the inhabited part of the station, remaining as inconspicuous as possible. She had been instructed to locate Captain Sisko or Dr. Bashir and tell them of her mission there.

She had placed the strange-looking needle-less hypo along with the tape recorded message in her macramé purse, slinging the long crocheted strap across her shoulders. Nervously but eagerly, she stepped into Seven's safe-like transporter, closing her eyes as Seven beamed her to the 24th century space station. He had not informed her how far in space she would be traveling, not wishing to frighten her. Seven knew that she had left her Q necklace at home, knowing that this young woman thought it might clash with the fake Starfleet uniform. She also mentioned that in order to be inconspicuous, she would need to blend in so as not to attract too much attention. Since the necklace was very beautiful and distracting and went against the Starfleet dress code, he agreed to let her leave it at home. He also knew that she was nervous when she learned that she would be traveling over four hundred years into the future. He told her not to worry; the people on the station were mostly friendly.

She materialized in a corridor. All was quiet as she opened her eyes. She found she was in a darkened area of the station. She felt a little disoriented at first, until her eyes grew adjusted to the dim light. With a bit of uncertainty as to how to get to the inhabited part of the station, she slowly started to walk on black carpeting towards a more illuminated spot. She paused, puzzled, as she heard some strange whirring noises. They seemed to be all around her and were growing louder. Suddenly, she felt a strange bit of warmth and numbness in the small of her back. Her legs buckled. She sank to her knees with shock and dismay as the numbness progressed. Then, everything went black.

Miles O'Brian was in the restaurant part of Quark's bar on his lunch break, enjoying a cup of Klingon coffee. He was sitting near the entrance when he overheard the two Chekovs meeting each other for the first time. He smiled as he recalled the DS9 crew's accidental trip into the past. Bashir had given a crewman named Frahman a shot to knock him out so Miles could take his place and take part in an historic event: namely, the lineup after the fight on space Station K-7. He had been standing right beside the then ensign, and like the young Pavel Chekov, had actually lied to Captain Kirk about not knowing who had started the fight. It was such an honor meeting the legendary chief engineer of the Constitution class starship that Miles didn't want him to get into trouble. He suspected at the time that neither did Chekov. Now, he was about to meet him again, and wondered if he would remember him. Miles was fascinated by the idea of seeing one of the engineering sections of the now securely docked starships. He decided to ask for a tour of one of the legendary ships.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but I would like to ask you for a small favor."

Pavel Chekov looked him over with obvious astonishment. Yes, he did remember him.

"You were on the Enterprise…weren't you?"

"Yes sir. My name is O'Brian. I was wondering if one of you gentlemen would grant me the opportunity to tour a Constitution class starship. I didn't have the opportunity to do much exploring when I was last on board NCC-1701."

Pavel smiled.

"Of course. Anyone who saves the life of my captain deserves a favor in return."

"You knew what I was doing there?"

"Not at the time, sir, but your lovely Trill science officer explained it to me. I would be happy to conduct a tour…with Captain Terrell's permission, of course."

"So would I, sir." Piotr said. "I would like my brother to tour the Defiant as well."

"Uh…no thanks, Piotr. Such a tour would creep me out. The last time I was on board that ship, I was surrounded by dead bodies."

Piotr smiled back with amusement.

"They are no longer littering the corridors, dear brother."

Pavel blushed.

"I know that…but it had not been a pleasant experience. I do not wish to relive it."

"As you wish, Pavel. I would be happy to conduct a tour of the refitted Defiant, sir, if Pavel's captain has any objections to your touring the Reliant."

Even though Miles was a bit uncomfortable touring a ship commanded by someone from the alternate universe, he decided to take him up on the offer if Pavel's captain had any objections. Captain Terrell had entered Quark's establishment as they were speaking, and said that he would be very glad to offer Mr. O'Brian a tour of the Reliant. Miles then recalled that the Reliant's chief engineer was also once part of Kirk's crew, and he thought it would be fascinating to meet her. Of course, he would not mention the meeting of the female engineer to Keiko. There was also the fact that Piotr was very concerned about the condition of his young nurse. He bowed politely and made his way back to the infirmary.

As the alternate Leila regained consciousness, she became aware that Captain Piotr was standing at her bedside, holding her hand. At first, she was wary and pulled her hand away, still a little frightened. As she became more aware of her surroundings, however, she realized that nobody there would hurt her. There was also, of course, the possibility that they were lulling her into a false sense of security.

"Captain…" She gasped hoarsely and cautiously. "The Klingon…is he going to kill me?"

"No, of course not, Ensign. In fact, he has left the station. He regrets frightening you. You are in the station's infirmary. I have dropped the charges against you and placed them on Sulu."

"On Sulu?" She asked, puzzled.

"Yes. He lied to you, contributing to your heart attack. We do not employ Klingon executioners, even on our side." He smiled gently at her, and then continued. "They cannot be trusted to be impartial. Sulu has been arrested and is now in their brig. When you feel up to it, you now have the right to pass sentence on him."

"Sir…do I still have to marry old Scar face?"

"Absolutely not! If you did marry him, your children would probably have hooves."

She smiled and giggled weakly at her captain's sense of humor. "Besides, I want your first time to be with someone you love, not with someone you loathe." He paused again, as she obviously came to the realization that her captain knew that she was still a virgin. She then recalled that it was his job to know all about his crew, especially if they were female. She also realized the real reason why he wouldn't let her become Captain's Woman. "When you feel up to it, you can pass sentence on him."

"I feel up to it right now." She answered, even though he knew that she didn't really. It would take her some time to get over her brush with death. However, Piotr was a patient man. "His punishment should be three-fold."

Piotr smiled.

"All right. Let's hear it."

"First, I want our chief medical officer to permanently remove the scar on his ugly face."

"Easily done. Then what?"

"Reduce his rank to a yeoman for an entire year so nobody has to listen to his lies."

"Very good. And last?"

"Put him in the booth, full duration."

"Perfect! The sentence will be carried out immediately. Now, my dear, concentrate on getting well. No one will hurt you here. They all seem to be very kind…." He paused for a moment, and then smiled at her gently. "Maybe too kind."


	15. Mission: Effortless

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 15

The Deep Space Nine crew had closed off a part of the station to unauthorized personnel so that they could detect shape shifters, whom they knew were planning an invasion of the alpha quadrant. Major Kira was the first to notice a peculiar flash of blue light in the semi-darkness from around a corner and then what appeared to be a somewhat bewildered young woman in a Starfleet uniform.

"That's a new one, Odo." The major said to herself softly. "You are getting better at your imitations every time." She raised her weapon. They all had their phasers set on heavy stun, for the regular stun setting had little effect with Founders. As the figure of the young girl turned, Kira fired her weapon. To the major's astonishment, the girl did not dissolve into Odo's natural puddle-like state, but simply lost consciousness. Sighing with consternation, the major tapped her com badge. "Everyone, hold your fire. There is an unauthorized intruder, a young-looking little idiot humanoid on the practice range."

Dax came up from behind the major and took out her tricorder. She waved it over the prone unconscious and motionless young woman as Kira turned the stun victim face up. They both thought that security was getting a bit lax since Worf left for his Bat'leth tournament. Odo had heard Kira's message and morphed back into his usual male humanoid form.

"Who is that and how did she get in here?" The constable asked with an irritated tone to his voice.

"We don't know, Odo. I thought it was you." Kira responded. "All I know is that she suddenly appeared in a flash of blue light and some kind of mist."

"I don't imitate little girls!" Odo said a bit grouchily. He peered at the poor stun victim thoughtfully. "A flash of blue light? That could mean that she is a Q. They also like to pretend they are Starfleet personnel."

"She's definitely not a Q, Odo. They would not allow themselves to be stunned. My tricorder indicates that she is half human and half El-Aurian. Her uniform is a close copy of ours, but is made of a simple cotton and polyester blend. Also, nobody would be carrying an old-fashioned purse while on duty." Jadzia tapped her com badge. "Dax to Bashir. We have a medical emergency on the practice range. An unidentified young woman has been heavily stunned."

"Acknowledged, Jadzia." The doctor responded. "I will be there in a few minutes. I just finished surgery on the alternate Miss Bennett's heart. Bashir out."

Dax continued to scan the unfortunate new arrival and frowned in puzzlement. The readings indicated that there was some sort of electronic device inside the authentic-looking handbag, still draped across the young girl's body.

"I haven't seen a handbag like this since I was joined to my first host. I'm picking up something made of duranium as well as traces of magnetism inside." Kira gently removed the purse from the girl's body.

"How do we open this thing?"

Dax peered curiously at the handbag, noticing an old-fashioned zipper at the top.

"Just pull that tab there to the right."

Kira complied as Bashir arrived via transporter and got their new arrival ready for transport. Kira pulled out the electronic device and gave it to Dax, who examined it curiously.

"This is the source of the magnetism." Dax said calmly, pressing the play button. "This is astonishing! It looks like a genuine reel-to-reel twentieth century tape recorder!"

"What's a tape recorder?" Kira asked. Dax waved her silent.

"Shhh…I'm listening to a recorded message."

"… _My name is Roberta Lincoln. I work for a top secret organization that monitors and polices alien activities on planet Earth in the twentieth century. I am recording this message in case something happens to me. I am a friend of Mr. Chekov's. I was transported here to help him regain his memory. Inside my purse is a needle-less hypo from the twenty-third century. Please inject its contents into him so that he can remember us and his mission. It contains a memory enhancer developed by the Grays. Stand back…This tape will self-destruct in ten seconds."_

They did as they were told, setting the device quickly on the floor. Bashir continued from a safe distance to use his medical scanner and waved it over the girl's body. Confirming their assertion that the new arrival was a stun victim, and waiting as the tape dissolved into nothing in a cloud of acrid smoke, he tapped his com badge. "Bashir to the infirmary. Lock onto my signal and energize."

Unknown to them, the tape recorder only looked like an old-fashioned twentieth century reel-to-reel one. Inside the casing made to look like a battery compartment was a rubidium crystal transponder that was defective. Mr. Seven had placed it in the recorder as a back-up; in case Roberta's other transponder in her com badge was damaged. When the device was activated, it began to emit a high frequency sound wave that nobody in the firing range was able to hear. When they transported out of the enclosed space and to the infirmary, they heard a high-pitched squeal of pain that was coming from Quark's bar.

The alternate mustached Mr. Quincy moved cautiously through the station. He felt very guilty about not being able to tell his sweetheart that he had been called away on a secret mission by their Gary Seven on the day he was to marry his Leila. He was now on the station to help get the Defiant crew back to where they belonged. He had heard that his Leila had been injured by the dastardly Mr. Sulu. He wanted to kill him for that, but he could not get past the security checkpoints to enter the brig. He had brought his own ship, big enough to accomodate all eighteen of Piotr Chekov's remaining crew, and it was under cloak. He had beamed himself onto the station unobserved.

After Piotr finished his conversation with the alternate Miss Bennett, he watched as they wheeled her into surgery to fix the damage caused to her heart. He then decided to tell Mr. Sulu what his sentence would be. He took great pleasure in watching as their chief medical officer, a man by the name of Dr. Dwayne Cook, stabbed him mercilessly with a hypo filled with a potent tranquilizer and transported him onto the Defiant. There, he fixed his scar. Then, the captain went to his quarters and updated Sulu's status to that of a yeoman. He had to wait until Sulu was back in the brig cell on DS9 and conscious again to tell him of the third part. He had asked their Leila before her surgery to amend the last part of her sentence against Mr. Sulu, but she refused. Death was too often the result of the slow torture of full duration of the agony booth. Even though Piotr hated Sulu for what he had done, he remembered the times he had been subjected to the booth and had no wish to see him die needlessly. He would have to take pleasure in seeing his ex-friend suffer the humiliation of his demotion, if he survived full duration. However, the sentence had to be carried out as it was. In their system of justice, only the crime victims and not the perpetrators had rights. He also knew that it would be the last time the booth could be used, being that he planned to dismantle it and give the ship back to the Federation in this universe. He also wondered at the fate of the M6 unit, but he would leave that up to their strangely benevolent benefactors.


	16. While Roberta Was Sleeping

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 16

Author's note: It took me a while to compose this chapter, for I had a bit of writer's block and had to Google a couple of items, of which I knew nothing; namely, the drinks Piotr and Cameron ordered in Quark's bar.

The alternate Cameron Quincy had managed to find his way to Quark's bar. As he surreptitiously sidled into the establishment, he noticed the familiar face and demeanor of his future wife at the bar. At first glance, he wasn't sure if she was his love from his side or her sweet demure counterpart on this one. As he grew nearer, he noticed that her uniform did not have a midriff and she didn't have a golden sash around her slender waist. She looked tired. Her eyes were closed and she was holding a ginger ale over ice in her right hand as it rested on the table. He smiled, knowing that she was not yet of legal drinking age. He sat down beside her and ordered a Harvey Wallbanger from the short, big-eared bartender. The alien, of course, had never heard of it.

"You Hu-mons sure have colorful names for your beverages." He said with a toothy grin. His brother Rom and his nephew Nog had left the station to visit their mother on Ferenginar. Quark had met the alternate Chekov, who had ordered a similar drink called a screwdriver. Quark had called in Miles O'Brian, knowing only that it was a tool of some sort. Actually, it turned out to be a mixture of vodka and orange juice. As Quark made his way to the computer to find out what his new patron wanted, the alternate Cameron sat down beside the young lady. He spoke to her gently.

"Rough day, gorgeous?"

"You might say that…." She paused for a moment, realizing that it was the voice of her fiancé. "Cameron!" Her eyes snapped open in surprise. She thought at first that he was her Cameron, somehow miraculously recovered from the near-fatal accident on the Reliant's bridge. However, when she got a good look at him, she noticed that he sported a mustache. Her Cameron only had a five o'clock shadow. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"There is no need to be frightened, sweetie. I will not harm you. I am officially here to bring our Captain Chekov and his motley little crew back to our universe and time. I'm also here to visit my future wife and to kill their security officer for harming her. How is she doing?"

"She just came out of heart surgery and is currently in the intensive care section in the station's infirmary. She won't be able to converse with you for quite some time. Also…from what I have heard, he probably doesn't have long to live anyway."

"Explain, please." The alternate Cameron asked, intrigued.

"Your Leila's sentence against him was three-fold. First, his trademark scar was removed from his face. Then, he was reduced in rank to yeoman for an entire year…." She paused, taking a sip of her drink.

"And the last?"

"Something called an agony booth…. He was to be put in it for full duration. Your Chekov said it would probably do him in."

The other Cameron grinned like a Cheshire cat and he chuckled softly, impressed by his love's choice of punishment.

"Yes, it probably will. It is a fitting punishment for such a slime ball."

She stared at him, observing his reaction.

"You approve of her choice to have him die in such a horrible fashion?"

"Of course I do, my dear. He nearly killed her. Also, if it will make you feel better, there is a chance, however slim, that he will survive full duration. If he does, he would have learned a valuable lesson."

"Not if you kill him!"

He smiled at her in a way that made her skin crawl.

"I assure you, beautiful, that if he does survive, he will not be killed by my hands. Besides, the security is so tight on board this station I could never get to him. Now…please take me to my love. I have some explaining to do to her."

"Like I said, Mr. Quincy, she won't be regaining consciousness for at least a couple of hours. In the meantime I suggest you make use of this station's amenities and remove your hand from my thigh. If you don't, I will snap your wrist."

The other Cameron chuckled again, grinned and complied.

"I didn't realize you were so formidable. My Leila loves it when I do that."

"Well, I don't! It's creepy!"

Suddenly, the alien bartender yelped in pain, dropped a tray of drinks, and collapsed to his knees. Startled but instantly attentive, Nurse Bennett rushed to his side, taking out her medical scanner from a fanny pack around her waist. The alien was still conscious. He was now screaming in agony and had his hands clasped over his huge ears. She could see dark purple inky blood oozing from between his silver-tipped fingers.

"What's the matter?"

"The noise! Don't you hear it?! Please…make it stop!" He screamed again and then passed out. Quickly, Nurse Bennett took her old-style communicator from her belt. It chirped to life.

"Bennett to Petrova! There is a medical emergency in the big-eared alien's bar! He suddenly screamed and collapsed, complaining of an inaudible noise."

"Acknowledged, Ensign. The noise is inaudible to us, but probably not to him. We heard the scream too. Dr. Bashir will be there soon. Do what you can for him until he arrives. He knows more about the alien's anatomy than either of us."

Dax had accompanied them to the infirmary when they had whisked the stunned new arrival from the shooting gallery there. She scanned the newcomer's tape recorder and discovered it was the source of the noise.

She took out her phaser, set it to disintegrate, told everyone to stand back, and destroyed it.

When Piotr approached Sulu's cell, he could tell he had regained consciousness and that he was not happy. His trademark scar was gone. As an added insult, they had put up a mirror in his cell so he could admire Dr. Cook's handiwork. The chief medical officer of the ISS Defiant was standing beside the captain.

"You said my punishment was three-fold, Captain. What's the third part?"

"You will be subjected to the booth, full duration." Piotr answered on the other side of the cell's force field. He was totally unprepared for the prisoner's reaction.

Sulu got to his feet, took a runner's stance, and then threw himself head first against the force field. As he crumpled to the deck, the doctor took out his scanner and then pronounced him dead.

"It is a pity the coward chose a quick and easy way out of his miserable existence." Captain Chekov said coldly. "I might have enjoyed seeing him die slowly for his crime. Dispose of that."


	17. When You're Smiley

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 17

The alternate O'Brian had long been an admirer of the ISS Enterprise crew and of Sulu in particular. He often wished he could have been there in that time period to assassinate Spock before he had the chance to spare the Halkans and destroy their empire long before its time. He could have also prevented Piotr Chekov from successfully assassinating their version of Captain Kirk on his second try. Smiley (He hated that nickname, but because their version of Benjamin Sisko was one of Kira's many lovers, had to grin and bear it.) knew that Intendant Kira had spies everywhere, even in that alternate universe. When he learned that his childhood hero had somehow managed to bring the ISS Defiant to the alternate universe in their era and was about to be punished for a, to him, minor offense, he begged the Intendant to let him go to his aid. After much painful groveling on his part and repeated assurances that he would not defect to the other side, she relented. Also, she told him that if he did defect, she would use the transporter herself to hunt him down and kill him. Despite that, he had absolutely no intention of keeping his word to the Bajoran cow, having no love for her or her people. He planned to stow away with Sulu on the Defiant, having heard that the starship was to be given back to the people on this side, go back in time, and change history for the better. Now that he knew that the Tholian sector was an easy way to slip back into the universe he was born into, he felt he had a good chance of succeeding.

When he arrived on the station via a retro-fitted transporter, most assumed that he was his counterpart, but a few gave him puzzled looks, sure that they had just seen him in Quark's bar. He gasped when he saw their Odo, but got over his surprise quickly. Theirs had recently died from a phaser blast. He approached the shape shifter courageously.

"Ah, Mr. Odo, you're just the man I wanted to see. I want to check the brig cell force fields to see if they're functioning properly."

"By all means, Chief. Lately, they have suffered some periodic power failures. Occasionally, I have had to hold my prisoners in my office and I would appreciate your assistance in fixing them."

"It would be my pleasure, sir." Smiley answered with a slick smile, still a little apprehensive at speaking to the alternate chief of security. The one on his side had been greatly feared and respected, and did not like to be deceived. They approached Sulu's cell together and Smiley peered in curiously. "Has he come to yet?"

The Defiant's chief medical officer answered instead.

"The answer to that is no, he hasn't. I gave him a pretty big shot to knock him out for his…face lift." Cook answered with an evil grin. Smiley smiled back at him nervously. "When he does, the third phase of his punishment will commence. The agony booth is quite painful. Most do not survive full duration."

"It's a pity that he has to die, even if he is a scalawag." Smiley said, giving the unconscious Defiant security officer another admiring look. "I will get to work on the force field right away." He added quickly, noticing that Odo had a suspicious expression on his face for a moment, and then, knowing that their O'Brian was a peaceful gentle man who bore no ill will to anyone, and that he had a job to do, left him to his work. Odo had been summoned to the infirmary, having been informed that their young stun victim from the twentieth century was regaining consciousness.

When the constable was out of earshot, Smiley then conspired with Dr. Cook and Sulu to fix the cell's force field so it would be strong enough to hold him in, but weak enough so it would just knock him out once he pretended to commit suicide. Then, Sulu and Smiley could stow away on the Defiant and get a free ride to the last century, once the starship was in the possession of the good people on this side.

Soon after First Officer Chekov had given their Miles O'Brian a guided tour of the Reliant, his communicator chirped. Lieutenant Dax had programmed the twenty-third century device so that it was compatible with their com badges. It was Dr, Bashir on the other side, informing him that he had some sort of memory enhancer drug to help him recover from his partial amnesia and to report to the infirmary. The doctor had the contents of the twenty-third century hypo analyzed, and was surprised to discover that the drug was one developed by a long extinct race of beings that had visited the Earth in the distant past. The young lady was coming to, and the good doctor knew that she would need to see a familiar face upon her awakening. Odo and Major Kira were at her bedside as well; Kira with a rather contrite look on her face. Poor Quark was unconscious in the bed adjacent to hers. His eardrums had been ruptured, and Bashir knew that soon he would have to be prepped for surgery for bionic inner ear hearing aids. Despite the fact that Kira didn't like Quark, she at once felt a bit sorry for him when she saw him in this state. She watched as Pavel Chekov entered the room. As soon as he reached the bedside of the young woman, Bashir gave him the memory enhancer shot.

At first, Pavel felt dizzy. He gripped the edge of the bed to steady himself. He closed his eyes. When he opened them again and the dizziness subsided, he recognized the young woman in the bed immediately. She moaned as her eyes fluttered open.

"_Roberta! _Honey, are you all right?"

"She won't be able to speak right away." Bashir informed him softly. "She received a pretty big stun charge."

Roberta's eyes focused on Pavel and she nodded slowly and unconvincingly. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she felt as if her entire body was one big foot that fell asleep. Her mouth felt like it was filled with Novocain and she found that she could not move anything but her head. There was a roaring in her ears as she tried to sit up. It was easy for Dr. Bashir to push her back down.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Lincoln." Major Kira said. "I thought you were my friend Odo."

At last, Roberta found her voice. What she could feel hurt and what she couldn't feel wouldn't work.

"What's an Odo?" She asked softly with another painful groan, trying to focus her eyes on the major and not succeeding too well. She didn't notice the constable standing nearby until he spoke.

"I'm Odo." He said rather gruffly. "I'm a shape shifter." His second sentence didn't register with the young woman at first. She at last got a good look at Major Kira, noticing the ridges on the bridge of her nose.

"What are you?"

"I'm a Bajoran, my dear. My name is Kira Nerys. I must apologize for stunning you."

"So…you people get your kicks stunning your friends? Why did you stun me? If you like to stun your friends, I would hate to see what you do to your enemies."

"You materialized inside a shooting gallery, my dear."

"Oh, that's just groovy! Nice going, Mr. Seven!" She said, wincing as she felt a new wave of dizziness and pins and needles.

"He couldn't have known." Pavel replied. "After all, there is a four-century gap between now and your time…Roberta…I thought you were on vacation. Why did Mr. Seven send you here? He could have sent Isis."

"My vacation is over. Stupid me… I was eager…ohhh…to come back to work." At last, Roberta was able to sit up, and she got a good look at Quark. "Oh my gosh! What happened to that guy? He looks like he was beaten up!"

"Actually, it was the transponder in your tape recorder." Chekov answered. "It malfunctioned and gave off a high frequency sound wave which ruptured the poor alien's eardrums."

Roberta frowned, partly out of curiosity and partly with the pins and needles sensations in her recovering limbs.

"He's an alien?"

"Yes, my dear. He's a Ferengi. Don't worry. It wasn't your fault. They have very sensitive hearing." The doctor replied. "He will be in a coma for a while and will need surgery." The doctor excused himself and went to tend to the alien.

"Pavel…how can a reel-to-reel twentieth century tape recorder do that?"

"Because it wasn't from the twentieth century, honey. It was from the twenty-second. It was only made to look like something from your era. Mr. Seven put an extra transponder in the battery compartment in case your fake com-badge malfunctioned. Unfortunately, the tape recorder had to be destroyed. It nearly killed that poor alien. Also, your com-badge transponder was damaged when you were zapped. I'm afraid you are temporarily stuck here with me. Don't worry, though. The people here are very nice."

She looked at him doubtfully.

"Yes, I'm sure they are."


	18. Temporarily Stranded

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 18

Most of the pain and tingling in Roberta's extremities had ceased, but she still could not feel her legs. Dr. Bashir had told her not to worry and that the numbing effect was temporary. She was sitting up now, relieved at that bit of news, Pavel Chekov by her side. He said that he was very proud of her for being courageous enough to be transported so far into the future and over three hundred light years from her home, just to help him recover his memory. Pavel knew that he had better stay with her, to keep her out of harm's way. He knew from long experience that transporting oneself into an unfamiliar environment could be fraught with danger. At first, they both thought they were stranded here on this station, but then Pavel remembered his hidden time transporter in the closet in his quarters on the Reliant. He could use that to get Roberta back to her time. Also, they would have to stay here anyway because both crews of the Constitution Class starships had to recover from their encounter with the Tholians.

Roberta was startled, but very much impressed with all the alien life forms she was encountering. From a previous adventure in which she was almost killed by one of Pavel's other evil doubles from another dimension, for example, her friend from the twenty-third century had pointed out an Andorian, who had entered the infirmary complaining about a headache, associated with the ultrasonic burst from the voice recorder Roberta had used. Pavel told her that he had not wished her to be frightened of the Andorian captain of the starship Constellation during that previous adventure, and at the time, did not let her meet him. This Andorian in Bashir's infirmary was a female one named Tola, and Roberta didn't feel too frightened by her. In fact, she was fascinated by her blue skin and antennae and the fact that she seemed to know what she was thinking. She also felt privileged when she realized that she was one of an infinitesimal minority of Earthlings from her century who actually knew first hand that extraterrestrials really did exist. However, what impressed Roberta even more was Captain Sisko. She was unaccustomed to seeing Black people in authority and was glad that at last Martin Luther King's dream of racial equality had come true. At first, she was a bit nervous around him, but he soon set her at ease, welcoming her to the twenty-fourth century. He offered her a tour of the station, once her legs started functioning again. She happily accepted, looking forward to it.

It had only been about an hour since Rom and his son Nog had left the station to visit Moogie. When they heard the news that Quark had been injured, they radioed Moogie and the space station that they were on their way back. He had heard that a human female had done the deed. Rom was very upset as he stormed into the infirmary, seeing his poor unconscious brother, who looked like death warmed over.

"Doctor Bashir, what's this I hear about some hu-mon female attacking and injuring my brother?!"

Chekov, instantly alerted to the anger in the alien's voice, barred his access to Miss Lincoln. He glanced at a startled Bashir, both of the men at the moment not exactly knowing what to say. Roberta stared at the alien fearfully.

"Don't worry, honey. I will protect you." He told her softly. The doctor answered instead.

"She didn't attack anybody, Rom. It was an accident. Anyway, your brother will be all right. He's being fitted with bionic hearing aids."

The alien named Rom calmed down a little, now looking a bit puzzled.

"Exactly what happened, Doctor?"

Chekov answered instead.

"Let me explain, sir."

"Who are you?" The alien asked, still a bit upset over his brother's injury.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander Pavel Chekov of the USS Reliant, sir. The young lady isn't responsible for what happened to your brother. Major Kira had stunned her when she accidentally encroached upon their practice firing range, damaging a voice recording device that she was carrying. The transponder in it emitted a high-frequency sound wave, damaging your brother's eardrums."

Roberta looked puzzled. She had not realized that the tape recorder she had taken with her from the twentieth century could cause such a serious injury. Apparently, Mr. Seven thought that the device, which only looked like a twentieth century tape recorder, would work for her, and did not know that she would be materializing inside a shooting gallery.

The alternate Mr. Sulu awoke with a splitting headache and groaned, realizing that he was still alive. At first, he thought he was alone. The room he was in was dark, but then he could see two other people with him. Rather upset that his suicide attempt didn't work out, he glowered at the figures. He thought at first that he was back in his cell in the space station's brig, but then realized that the room was too big to be a cell.

"Computer, turn on the damn lights!" He ordered rather gruffly. As the lights came on, he saw two men standing over him. One was the chief medical officer of the ISS Defiant and the other appeared to be the chief of operations from Deep Space Nine. "Cook, what am I doing here?"

"We are hiding you here, sir." The doctor said with a smirk. "I saved your life and gave you back your scar because of what Smiley here said."

"Explain." He ordered tersely, rubbing his temples.

"When Captain Chekov and the others from our universe leave, sir, we are going back in time to save our Empire from an untimely extinction." Smiley answered respectfully. "One of us has to make sure that the McCoy from this side doesn't try to save Spock from dying when he is hit over the head with the skull of an ape in the Enterprise sickbay."

"And why would the Empire be doomed by that action?"

"Because the Kirk from this side convinced him to spare the Halkans. In doing so, he made the Empire appear to be weak in the eyes of our enemies. In only seventy years, our glorious Empire was brought to an end by the Bajorans on our side. We were made their slaves. We cannot let this happen."

Sulu grinned.

"I see. I agree…we can't." He tried to stand, but he found that his legs were numb, probably from the effect of the force field he had thrown himself into. "All right, gentlemen. I'm game. Why did you hide me on the Defiant?"

"It would be the last place they would think to look, and Captain Chekov still thinks you're dead. An operative working for some sort of secret organization has a ship here to take the rest of us home. Piotr is giving this ship back to the people on this side."

"How are they going to tote this bucket of bolts back to Starfleet Command?"

"I heard that they will be splitting the Reliant crew in half. Two hundred and fifteen people will be bringing this ship back, while the other half will bring the Reliant back."

"These ships are damaged. They would never survive a slingshot effect around the sun."

"Agreed, sir." Smiley said. "That's not the way they will be going back. We will be going back the way you came: through the Bajoran wormhole."


	19. What Are Friends For?

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 19

Roberta had finally recovered from being stunned with a Number Two phaser. The nephew of the alien who had been injured by Roberta's tape recorder, Nog, had taken a shine to her, and was now following her around like a puppy. He had asked Pavel Chekov how much he wanted for her, apparently eager to pay any price. They both, of course, insisted that she was not for sale, and definitely not property. However, Roberta was not offended. In fact, she was amused. Nog's father Rom was tending to the bar as Quark recovered in the infirmary, and explained to her that on his planet, women were considered commodities. She decided to introduce young Mr. Nog to root beer. At first, he found it a bit too sweet, but soon grew to like it. He accepted the fact that she was not for sale after a while, finding out also that she was from the twentieth century. That revelation intrigued him, and he showered her with questions about her era, much to Pavel's amusement, as he ordered vodka from the alien barkeep.

The alien barkeep named Rom had been told that Chekov was a Russian. Even though the human didn't seem to be any different from the humans he had met in the nineteen forties in Roswell, he found him to be very interesting, noticing his accent when he spoke. He also wondered why the Russians were considered to be enemies of the United States in that era. However, he kept those questions to himself.

The alternate Nurse Leila had recovered from her brush with death, and was in Quark's bar at a small table, sipping a Shirley Temple. Soon, the chief medical officer of the ISS Defiant swaggered into the establishment, a look of satisfaction on his face. Even though he was slight of build and looked fairly harmless, the people on the station gave him a wide berth, noticing that he was wearing a golden sash around his waist and carried an agonizer, just in case he was accosted. He sat across from the girl with a smug expression.

Miss Lincoln was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable around the Ferengi, and soon, her Q friend Quinn appeared by her side as if to her rescue in a flash.

"Buzz off, you little troll. She's my friend." The Q smiled at her as the young, short big-eared alien nervously made a quick exit, mumbling something about some work he had to do anyway, and knowing a bit about the powerful entity. Quinn held out an outstretched hand and soon her necklace of Spican flame gems appeared on it. "Hello, Roberta. I thought you might want this, so I brought it along."

"That's very nice of you, Quinn, even though I don't really think I need it." She took it out of his hand anyway. Even though it clashed with her fake Starfleet uniform, there was no harm in wearing it, now that her cover had been blown. That fact didn't bother any of them, though.

"You never know, my dear. It might come in handy. I would also like to remind you that it will protect you from harm and that it gives you the ability to read minds." Quinn turned, waved a hand, and everyone but Roberta, Pavel, the alternate Leila and he froze like statues. "That little weenie sitting across from the alternate Leila has a secret. I want you to pick his brain. He will never suspect that an innocent chick like you from the era barely out of stone knives and bear skins would be able to read him telepathically." He grinned as if that was an inside joke.

Suddenly realizing that Dr. Cook was unresponsive, the startled alternate Leila looked around the room curiously. She locked eyes with the Q, overhearing what he said. It was not often that Dr. Cook showed any kind of interest in her, but he was the type who could not keep a secret, even if his life may depend on it. Intrigued, she stepped closer to them.

"So, what's the big secret?"

The Q smiled at Roberta.

"Go ahead and use your necklace, honey."

Roberta focused her attention on the still frozen chief medical officer of the ISS Defiant. Astounded that she could pick up anything from him, she stared at the alternate Leila.

"Your Mr. Sulu is still alive. Cook and a guy named Smiley saved his life. He and the other Mr. O'Brian are hiding out on the Defiant until your boyfriend takes you all back to your space and time."

The alternate Nurse Leila smiled at them, a cat that swallowed the canary look in her eyes. It was now time to exact revenge for the crime Sulu committed against her. Pavel smiled back, neither he nor Roberta picking up on her evil intent, thinking that his brother and the alternate Sulu were as close friends as he was to his.

"Thank you very much for that information, Miss Lincoln." The alternate Miss Bennett said with an almost evil smirk. "I will inform my captain immediately. I am sure that he will be happy to hear that Sulu didn't really kill himself."

"I am sure he will be too, Miss Bennett." Chekov said, looking back at Quinn. "I think you can thaw everyone out now, Mr. Quinn."

"I agree, Mr. Chekov." The Q waved a hand, and everyone around them continued on as if nothing had happened. He addressed Miss Lincoln. "Enjoy yourself while you are here, my dear. Pavel, if you and your crew need help in getting back to where you belong, just ask."

"That is very kind of you, sir. However, not everyone has fully recovered from the Tholian attack yet. There is also still the matter of returning the Defiant back to the way it was before the people from the alternate universe got a hold of it."

"Those tasks are easy for the Q to perform. Just say when you want to go, and as dear Captain Picard says, I will make it so." The Q disappeared in a flash, nodding respectfully at them all.

"If you will excuse me, I will go and inform Captain Chekov immediately of the good news." Leila said, chug a lugging her drink.

"Of course, my dear." Pavel said gallantly, happy that his counterpart's friend wasn't dead after all.

Roberta frowned with sudden concern, not quite sure why as the alternate nurse left the establishment. The nurse flipped open her communicator while on the promenade and vanished in transporter sparkles.

Leila materialized on the Defiant, now knowing exactly what to do to get her revenge on Sulu. The captain had beamed her aboard, and noticed the look of pure joy on her face.

"What is it, my dear?"

"I have some incredible news, sir. Sulu is alive and is hiding somewhere on board."

Piotr smiled.

"I thought so. Come with me."

She complied, a little bit curious and a little apprehensive at his intentions. He led her to his quarters and went to a decorative panel. Soon, she realized that it was not simply decorative as he touched two corners of it. A panel slid up on it, revealing a Tantalus device.

"I assume you know what this is." He said with an evil smirk.

"Of course, sir. However…isn't he your friend?"

"Not anymore. He almost killed you and he wanted to be put out of his misery anyway. Do you want to do the honors or should I?"

"I want to do it, sir. After all, I don't want it to get around that you disintegrated your best friend."

Piotr grinned and laughed with amusement and stepped aside. He watched as she pressed the button.


	20. Cheating Death

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 20

Captain Piotr frowned in puzzlement for a moment as Sulu vanished, seeing what looked like transporter sparkles. Of course, he had never seen anyone vanish with the use of the Tantalus device before, so he shrugged it off. He had just had the device installed before they were to meet with the Tholians on their side, after getting orders from their Starfleet to take command of the newly discovered USS Defiant. It was the first time he had ever used one. For all he knew, the Tantalus device did what it was supposed to do. Both Nurse Leila and he thought that the former security officer had been destroyed, the girl having a smug and satisfied look on her face. Piotr suddenly felt a twinge of regret at what he had just let the young girl do, even though he admired her gall. Sulu and he had been friends ever since the Five Year Conquest, which was the official name given to the historical event. They had not been as close as his brother's and Sulu's counterpart, but now he felt guilty for letting the girl kill him. However, he could not let her or anyone else know how he felt. He knew that showing his feelings could make him appear weak to his subordinates. Also, he had eliminated one more possible threat to his authority. Sulu would have tried to kill him eventually. He tried to convince himself that it was better this way. He briefly wondered how his Captain Kirk had dealt with his acts of murder, but brushed aside the thought. Kirk was his role model of what a captain should be, and he greatly respected him for having the guts to eliminate his enemies.

Former chief of security Sulu felt himself dissolve into nothingness for about two seconds. He thought he was a goner, but a few seconds later, he discovered that he was still alive. He opened his eyes. He was back on Deep Space Nine, but he did not materialize in the brig. He found himself in an empty conference room. Puzzled, but kind of relieved that he had a new lease on life, he flipped open his communicator and opened a channel to Smiley to tell him that he was still alive. O'Brian's counterpart did not sound surprised, and told him that he had transformed the Tantalus device into a transporter and to stay where he was. Soon, he materialized in the room with him; both men still eager to carry out their plans to save the Terran Empire from an untimely extinction. Now that Captain Piotr thought Sulu was dead for real, nobody would be looking for him. Dr. Cook had beamed aboard the alternate Quincy's ship, convinced also of Sulu's demise. He had seen the Tantalus device in action a few times, and knew that it was lethal. The remainder of the crew of the ISS Defiant had recovered fully from the Tholian attack. They thanked Sisko for his hospitality and all seventeen remaining crewmembers were safely aboard Quincy's ship, which he had named the ISS Destiny. Captain Chekov also knew about what had happened to the Empire, and approved of the new name for the alternate Quincy's craft. He decided to do the same thing as Sulu had planned to do: Go back in time and save the Empire from an untimely demise. If he did, he could take his place in history as the Empire's greatest hero. Quincy told him that their Mr. Seven had put him on this mission as well, after all of the remaining ISS Defiant crew were safely aboard his ship. Their Nurse Bennett and Quincy were married as they set out for the wormhole and disappeared into it, Quincy finally explaining why he had at first left her at the altar. She forgave him, also approving of their plans to save their Empire.

After Sulu and Smiley made sure that Piotr's remaining crew were gone, they left the conference room and beamed themselves on board the now renamed USS Defiant, which had been left as a gift for the people on this side, with all the devices that their side used now deactivated. Everyone who saw the Constitution class starship out the port windows was in awe of the fact that the Defiant had finally found its way home intact after almost a century. Captain Terrell had graciously offered a tour of it to anyone who wanted one. His crew had also fully recovered from the Tholian attack and the strange shock wave that followed; Lt. Commander Rahda's arm now fully healed, and their Quincy now fully recovered, thanks to the ministrations of Dr. Bashir. Cameron and Nurse Leila were now making plans to tie the knot as well.

Quark had at long last recovered from his injury, and as a gesture of forgiveness and good will to Miss Lincoln, offered her a free tour of the station and Captain Terrell and First Officer Chekov a visit to a holosuite, Captain Sisko graciously picking up the tab.

Miss Lincoln was at first curious about where the two men were heading, having never heard of a holosuite, but was growing more uncomfortable around the Ferengi, who were now all eyeing her like a piece of meat, saying something about wanting to see what she looked like naked. She was starting to grow fearful that they might try something with her, so she declined a visit to the suite. Chekov smiled as her necklace started to glow in response to her uneasiness, telling her that she would be all right as long as she wore it. Quinn reappeared and told them to enjoy themselves and that he would act as Roberta's chaperone. He was still willing to return the Defiant, the Reliant and Miss Lincoln back to where they belonged. Captain Terrell and Roberta decided to accept his gracious offer, all thinking that it would be much safer than another excursion into the Bajoran wormhole or a slingshot effect around the sun to drop off Miss Lincoln on twentieth century Earth upon their return to the twenty-third century. Chekov was still concerned about the effectiveness of his time transporter in his quarters as well.

Pavel Chekov watched as the Destiny vanished inside the wormhole, having wished them a safe journey. He now felt that Mr. Seven had judged his brother too harshly. He wasn't that bad, even though his universe was not a place that he would like to visit. He had gotten wind of their plans to save their Empire from an early demise, but, being that Piotr's crew would be returning to their own universe, he saw no reason to get involved. They could do what they wanted on their side, and he was still bound by the Prime Directive. However, he still wished his brother luck before he left, not knowing of the stowaways who were now on board the USS Defiant.


	21. The Tantalus Device

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 21

As the ISS Destiny reached the other universe, Captain Piotr scanned the alternate Deep Space Nine with his eyes through the main viewing screen of Quincy's ship. He was standing next to the command chair. He knew he could take over the alternate Cameron's ship if he wanted to, but he liked the newly married kid, even though he had taken his pretty young nurse from him. The alternate Leila had become a member of Cameron's crew, and now Piotr only had sixteen people under his command. The station looked dark and menacing, but they were used to such things. Piotr had learned how the alternate Bajorans had enslaved his people. His first thought was that they should attack the station with conventional weapons, but then he saw some Klingon and Cardassian ships docked at the base. Attacking them outright would be foolhardy. They could not time travel just yet, and they were growing bored and restless. Going through the wormhole caused some damage to the engines. As they were being repaired, the captain was suddenly tempted to attack the station in another manner.

"Mr. Quincy, does this ship have a Tantalus device?"

Cameron smiled at him with an evil glint of admiration in his eyes. This Chekov was not above picking off his enemies one by one like his former captain, and the people on the alternate station would not know what was happening to them until it was too late. The Tantalus device had evolved into the perfect concealed weapon over the last century, and now had a range of three parsecs; more than enough of a range to do in every Bajoran on the station, starting, if they wished, with Intendant Kira. Of course, not every ship had this device, but Quincy's Mr. Seven saw no problem with installing one from the twenty-fourth century on this ship. If every ship had a Tantalus device, no one would be safe. The device could be misused, and if it fell into the wrong hands, it might be used to exterminate the human race. Also, they were all sure that the Bajorans on this side had learned of the weapon and had probably destroyed every Tantalus device they could find. They would not be able to destroy this one, however. Cameron's ship also had a cloaking device and the people on the alternate space station called Terok Nor had not detected their presence.

"Yes, sir, and I see what you are getting at. If we pick off all the Bajorans on the station, we could beam all of our human comrades onto this ship and recruit them to help us defeat our enemies in the past."

"That would be too risky." Piotr answered, returning his smile, enjoying his use of the word comrades. "They may or may not help us. We cannot assume that they would be loyal followers if we make them a part of our crew. Some of them have probably become docile under that bitch's rule. I think it's best to leave them where they are. Some of them might witness the disappearance of some of the Bajorans and figure out that they were being liberated by an unknown benefactor. Also, I am sure that there are Tantalus devices on other human ships, even in this era. Besides, this ship has to go back in time and stop the untimely demise of the Terran Empire."

"Agreed, sir. Orders?"

"Lock onto Intendant Kira and destroy her."

"With pleasure, sir." Cameron said with an evil grin, his new bride giving him a hug as he set the controls. Soon, they had acquired their target, and their alternate Leila exited the bridge, leaving the men to do what they needed to do.

Intendant Kira was sitting in a hot tub, wearing only her trademark head piece, enjoying the company of two muscular and well endowed male slaves. One of them, who was a Bajoran, was in the tub with her. Her eyes were closed as he caressed her skin and made love to her. The ISS Destiny crew knew they had to wait until the servant got out of their targeting range before pressing the button to the Tantalus device. Soon, the man moved away and the button was pressed. Startled, the naked Bajoran servant hoisted himself out of the hot tub and ran to the security alarm. He was too late. Cameron, seeing that the servant from the hot tub was also a Bajoran, pressed the Tantalus button for him too. The remaining slave, who was human, had been putting expensive perfume in the alternate Kira's bath. He scampered away in fear, an astonished look on his face. His expressions soon changed to a smile as the human slave watched all of the Bajorans in the room vanish.

Piotr was scowling with anger, however. He realized that he had been tricked by that man they called Smiley. There were no transporter sparkles when the Intendant disappeared; nor were there any for her unfortunate hot tub lover.

"That miserable kulak!" Piotr hissed angrily. "He tricked me!"

"Who tricked you, sir?" Cameron asked curiously.

"That Smiley tricked me! Sulu must still be alive!"

The alternate Cameron was glad that his Leila had left the bridge. She would have been furious.

"Should we go back to the Deep Space Nine universe and track them down?"

"No, that would take too much time." Captain Chekov answered, composing himself. "Besides, we have no way of knowing where those two Cossacks went. We have bigger fish to fry. Set the coordinates for the Halkan sector, warp eight. En—"

Before Piotr had time to give the order to engage, there was an unexplained temporal distortion on the main viewing screen. A small silvery unidentified alien ship appeared and disabled their propulsion systems. They soon realized that they were not going to go anywhere. However, their defensive systems were not affected.

"Hail them!" Captain Piotr shouted.

"Sir," the communications officer said in astonishment. "They are hailing us. Their captain wants you to step aside."

"What?" Piotr asked in consternation and a bit of frustration.

"He wants to beam onto the bridge, sir."

Piotr sighed, realizing that there was no point in fighting with this new threat to their plans. He complied.

Soon, a middle-aged human male appeared, holding a standard phaser in his right hand.

"Greetings, gentlemen. My name is Rasmussen. My side's Mr. Seven, who heads Section thirty-one, brought my time pod back to me with a job offer. For the past decade, I have been stuck on Nimbus Three. I am now under his employ and have kidnapped one of his female operatives on Deep Space Nine. She's coming back with me as a hostage and because I think she has knowledge I need to get me to where I want to go."

"There is no need to point a phaser at us, Mr. Rasmussen." Quincy said. "We are all on the same side."

"I'm not on anyone's side, sir. I just want to go home. I have been stuck in this two-bit century for ten years." He noticed the look on Chekov's face and smiled. "Don't worry, sir. I do not wish to harm the young lady. I just knocked her out for awhile with a harmless sedative. The ship I was driving has twenty-sixth century technology that enabled me to temporarily disable her Q necklace. I came to this universe to escape Seven's scrutiny. I will give you my craft's technology in exchange for a ride back to my time." Rasmussen explained, lowering his weapon and putting it back in his holster.

Chekov grinned.

"Very well, Rasmussen. Beam your young captive over too. That offer is too tempting to pass up. Allow me to introduce myself."

Rasmussen waved a hand.

"There is no need to, sir. I know who you are."

"Very well. Mr. Quincy, put a tractor beam onto that ship out there and tow it into our hangar deck. Welcome aboard, Rasmussen."


	22. Seven's New Recruit

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 22

Berlingoff Rasmussen was still a petty thief, even though he was not a terribly bad fellow. He had to act tough on Nimbus Three, for there were a lot of pickpockets and other shady characters on the planet; most marooned there by Starfleet and the Federation for various crimes. The officials on the planet had built a makeshift jail, and he had been unceremoniously dumped into it. After the alien owner of a time pod , who called himself a Bajoran, had landed in his back yard in New Jersey and soon died of an illness he called Xenopolycythemia (The Bajorans had not been given the cure for this disease, because their planet was not yet a member of the Federation.), Berlingoff, down on his luck, couldn't resist taking it for a joy ride. It was not every day that an extraterrestrial landed in his back yard. Since it would be twenty years before Zefram Cochran would make his historic first warp driven flight and they all found out that Earth wasn't alone in the universe, Rasmussen didn't want anyone to know about this. He knew that the alien would probably be dissected if the government found out about him and Berl would be ridiculed or worse. He also had quite a time disposing of the alien's corpse. The alien had left him a message on what to do, but it took Berlingoff several hours to retrieve it. When he did, he found that the alien wanted him to disintegrate his remains with a phaser, to erase any evidence of his existence. Before dying, the alien had shown him the basics on how to use the pod. Since he was not told who the alien worked for, Berl felt that the pod was his to have fun with and that he was under no obligation to join the covert organization of which the alien said that he was a part. Rasmussen, who was, in his own words, a dismally unsuccessful inventor, felt that if he went far enough into the future, he would be able to find out what inventions had been successful. He would steal them for himself and "invent" something once a year upon returning to his own century. He had tried to trick the crew of the starship Enterprise-D into believing that he was an archeologist from the twenty-sixth century. When the alien time pod appeared in his back yard, the extraterrestrial told him that he was from the future and that he worked for an organization that monitored and policed alien activities on his home planet, which was over three hundred light years from Earth. He offered him a job in the secret organization and Berlingoff was intrigued by the offer. Rasmussen had come up with his little deceptive scheme after the alien died. If it hadn't have been for that android and that beautiful ship's counselor on the starship, he would have gotten away with it. He had officially been released for his crime of petty theft after five years, but it took money to leave. He also had no idea what to do to get off this ball of dust and on with his life, so he decided to stay for a while. He had been hired by the local eatery as a cook and a busboy until he could save enough to book passage off the planet. Nobody cared about his past, for the people who lived on this god forsaken dirt ball needed all the help they could get, and almost all of them had murky pasts. It had not been easy to sock away a little gold pressed latinum each payday for the past five years, but he hid it well, socking it away under his cot mattress and in an old suitcase that was provided to him when he left the jail. He had also made legal purchases of items from this era over the years, just in case he could some day find a way back to his own time. He still had plans to '''invent" one a year if he made it back. Even if he didn't, the items could be sold if he needed cash.

He was sitting in the greasy spoon diner where he worked, staring vacantly out of the window at a dust storm that was beginning. He had learned through time not to stare at the extraterrestrials that frequented the establishment, so he did not take much notice of a human male, dressed in a twentieth century business suit, as he materialized in a booth across from his. Instead, he blinked in astonishment as the time pod he thought was lost forever reappeared on the bleak landscape before his eyes.

"A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Rasmussen." The man said softly. Berlingoff turned and stared at him. He had never seen him before in his life and had no clue who he was or how he got there. However, after a few seconds, he connected the dots. It was obvious that the mysterious stranger had some connection with the time pod.

"Who are you and how do you know who I am?"

"My name is Gary Seven. I am the head of the organization that the alien who landed in your back yard worked for. In this era, we are called Section Thirty-One. In the era I am from, we are affectionately known as the Men in Black. I have been observing you for quite some time, and know that, for the most part, you have behaved yourself. I have come to help you leave this planet by offering you a better job."

"That's very nice of you, Mr….uh… Seven. Why did you return the time pod?"

"I want you to find this young lady and take her back to her time." The strange man handed him a photograph of a beautiful young woman. "Her name is Roberta Lincoln. I have been very worried about her. She was sent to help another operative regain his memory on Deep Space Nine, but I lost her transponder signal three days ago. I am concerned that something bad may have happened to her."

Rasmussen studied the photograph. By the way she was dressed in the picture, he figured that she might be a Starfleet officer, for she was dressed in the same type of uniform as the rest of them he had encountered before being stranded on Nimbus Three.

"Mr. Chekov, the other operative, might be with her. If he is, do nothing and contact me with this." Seven handed him a twenty-third century communicator. "If you find him alone, do not approach him. He is the first officer of the Reliant. He has ways of returning to where he belongs. Just concentrate on locating this young lady and bring her back to her century."

Rasmussen smiled and nodded, looking at the picture of the very attractive young female operative.

"I will be happy to do that, sir. What is her century?"

"The twentieth. If and when you return with Miss Lincoln unharmed, you will be made a full fledged agent, if you so desire. We are always looking for good people for the organization. I must leave now, and thank you in advance for your help." Rasmussen wanted to ask him more questions, but the stranger named Gary Seven disappeared in a shower of transporter sparkles.

It had been a long day for Roberta, and she was very glad to finally beam aboard the Defiant. Pavel, who had been placed in command, had assigned her guest quarters, and she was shown how to use the replicator. She inserted the diskette she was given into the slot, wondering what it would make for her supper. As the lid to the device opened, she carefully took out a plate of barbeque chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and corn, marveling at the thought of a machine that was capable of making something so delectable. There was another diskette, and she pushed it into the slot. Within a minute, the replicator produced a steaming cup of cocoa with a large marshmallow on top. Smiling, she wrapped her hands around the warm sides of the cup, and took a sip of the steaming liquid. It was delicious. She sat down in a comfortable chair, set her dinner on a nearby table and closed her eyes. She had had quite a time with the Ferengi, and was glad when Pavel finally came to her rescue. The Defiant crew was about to get underway, and she slowly finished her supper. Sulu and Smiley were still in hiding. Pavel had showed Roberta another amenity in her room: a computer that was simply amazing to her. It had a monitor with three sides. He told her that she could order it to play something soothing, to ease her jangled nerves. He knew the feeling. He had not been comfortable with the idea of commanding the USS Defiant, recalling his first visit to the starship as an ensign. He knew that Miss Lincoln was still not quite used to being around aliens, even though she liked the people she had met who ran Deep Space Nine. As she reached for the switch to turn the computer on, she gasped as she felt something hiss at the base of her neck….

When Cameron and Piotr arrived at the Halkan home world, they were astonished to discover that there were no life form readings. It looked like the planet had been devastated by a man-made disaster about a hundred years in the past. However, strangely, they were still detecting large deposits of di-lithium crystals deep within the planet's crust. They thought that by now the planet would have been stripped clean of its resources. Captain Piotr and Cameron both came to the conclusion that Sulu and the man named Smiley must have gone back in time and managed to change history. They must have convinced their Spock not to listen to that goody two shoes Kirk and saved the Empire from an untimely extinction by annihilating the Halkans. To prove this hypothesis, they decided to return to the space station after returning Miss Lincoln and their unusual passenger back to their own universe.


	23. The Temporary Hostage

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 23

Rasmussen had decided to hold Roberta for ransom, now knowing for certain that she worked for the mysterious Gary Seven. The first thing he did upon retrieving the time pod was to try to return to his own century. He was soon disappointed and frustrated when he found that it would go no further back than the twenty-third century. He then thought, upon returning to the twenty-fourth, that Miss Lincoln would have to be the key to his freedom to return to his own time. He would contact Mr. Seven on the communicator he had been given and demand the technical information to unlock the remainder of the time pod's time travel capabilities. He found out that the young lady he had kidnapped was not a Starfleet officer after all; that she was really from the nineteen sixties, and that she knew next to nothing about this era, so he decided to use a threat against her to get what he wanted. If Seven did not give him the information he needed to modify the pod, he would threaten to kill her. Of course, Rasmussen would not really harm or kill her, but he figured that a threat to do so would be more effective than one to simply keep her there in the future. Having been on a planet filled with violence for the past decade, he knew how to lie well and how to talk tough. Also, he had learned much about this era's technology, and knew that Seven obviously had knowledge he lacked.

Rasmussen detected the relief in Mr. Seven's voice that Roberta was alive and unharmed when he first contacted him with the supplied communicator. Berlingoff was surprised that Mr. Seven could be contacted, given that he was in an alternate universe. The young lady was still unconscious from the strong sedative she had been given and was in the ISS Destiny's sickbay. The Destiny's crew detected the astonishment and tension in Seven's voice when Rasmussen demanded the technical information needed to fix the time pod or else. Piotr was amused by that and thought that their new guest should have been born in their universe. Upon returning to their version of Deep Space Nine, the people on the ISS Destiny were all puzzled to discover that nothing had changed. The intendant was still dead and the station was now abuzz with frantic activity. They were glad to have remained cloaked, for the station was now like a disturbed bee's nest. They decided that it was too risky to stay, and that it was only a matter of time before they were discovered, so they set course for the Halkan home world to acquire the di-lithium crystals detected there. They figured that they might need them later on, if they should decide to use time travel. Captain Piotr then concluded upon returning to the Halkan home world that his former friend was not completely successful at convincing their Spock not to heed Captain Kirk's advice to spare the race that once occupied this planet. It was apparent that the Terran Empire was still doomed to an untimely extinction, even though the Halkan planet still appeared to have been devastated by some man made disaster.

Neither Mr. Seven nor Pavel knew that Rasmussen's threat to kill Miss Lincoln was only a bluff. Pacing worriedly in his apartment, Seven then thought that it had been a mistake to trust him. Pavel had immediately contacted Seven upon discovering that Roberta had vanished from the Defiant, using his personal agent's link and was also very worried about her safety. He had turned the ship about with permission from Captain Terrell, who was still in command of the Reliant, and both ships returned to Deep Space Nine. At first, Mr. Seven felt forced to give Rasmussen the information he wanted to return to his own century, not wanting Roberta to be harmed or killed, but then Pavel had a better idea. He would go into that other universe to rescue her and secure the time pod for Mr. Seven, thus punishing Berlingoff Rasmussen for kidnapping Roberta by stranding him in the twenty-fourth century for good.

The first thing that Roberta saw upon awakening was the familiar face of her friend and fellow agent. However, she at once felt fearful when she recognized Dr. Cook and realized she was no longer aboard the starship Defiant. Knowing that Pavel would have no reason to drug her, she then came to the logical conclusion that she had been abducted. She stared at Captain Chekov fearfully, hoping that she was wrong and that this was some kind of sick joke.

"Kagda Luna v'sedmon dome..." She said softly and with uncertainty in Russian in her usual way, hoping that this was the Chekov she knew. Rasmussen had just stepped into the room and not knowing Russian, looked at her curiously. Piotr was a little puzzled too.

"When the moon is in the seventh house?" He asked the girl with a gentle but sinister smile. It made her skin crawl.

Berlingoff grinned, recognizing the opening lyrics to the centuries old Fifth Dimension tune. It was one of his favorite pieces of classical music.

"And Jupiter aligns with Mars" he responded with amusement. "Why are you quoting a twentieth century pop song?"

"You know Russian" Piotr said,impressed, touching her cheek. They all were staring at her lustfully, making her even more uncomfortable. "I thought Americans from your era hated Russians." Revolted and unsure of his intentions, she turned her face away. "Cook said you are not completely human, but you are very beautiful. Please don't be afraid." He and Cook noticed that her heart rate was elevated as they glanced up at the overhead medical scanner. "Please answer the question."

"It's…ohhhh….something I say to your brother to confirm his identity." She sat up with some trepidation as she answered and the room started to spin. She sank her head down onto the pillow.

"She still has traces of the sedative that Rasmussen gave her in her system." Cook informed Piotr softly. "She will be dizzy for a while, but she will be all right."

Roberta closed her eyes for a few seconds.

"Who is Rasmussen? Why did you kidnap me? Am I your prisoner?"

"Prisoner is too strong a word, Miss Lincoln." Rasmussen answered instead. "Temporary hostage would be a better term. My name is Berlingoff Rasmussen and I am from the twenty-second century. Mr. Seven recently hired me to find you and bring you back to your century, but because I can't get my time pod to work right, our enigmatic boss will have to give me the technical information to return you and me to where we belong or else."

She peered at him fearfully.

"Or else what? Look… Pavel would have brought me home. There was no need for this abduction. Please don't hurt me."

"Who's Pavel?" Rasmussen asked her gently.

"He's…his brother…from my universe." She indicated Captain Chekov with great apprehension, but he only nodded. "Am I going to die?"

Cook smiled.

"Maybe in about seventy years. Please don't be afraid, Miss Lincoln. You are our guest. We will not hurt you."

"Like you, I just want to go home to my century, Roberta." Rasmussen added. "I gave Seven an empty threat that I would kill you if he doesn't give me the information I need to fix my time pod."

She calmed down a little and looked at him curiously. She didn't much like it when he called her by her first name. He gave her the creeps.

"You are new at this, aren't you?" She asked courageously. "Why would Mr. Seven hire the likes of you?"

Rasmussen shrugged.

"I don't know, but it's a much better job than slinging hash on some dismal backwoods alien planet. Besides, why would he hire a twentieth century primitive such as you?"

"He recruits people from many different time periods. Why he trusted you with finding me and bringing me back to my own time is beyond me."

"I have every intention of bringing you back home, Miss Lincoln. He was worried about you, having lost your…what's the word…transponder signal three days ago. I was not aware that your Mr. Chekov was in command of the Defiant.* Also, I want to return to my own time as well. The twenty-fourth century is not to my liking."

"I'm not overly fond of it myself" Roberta responded honestly. She now found that she could sit up without feeling the effects of vertigo. She was still a bit ill at ease around these people, knowing their reputation as being cunning and treacherous, but they seemed sincere when they said that she would not be harmed. When she recovered fully, she was assigned guest quarters that were similar to the one on the USS Defiant. However, she did not feel very comfortable at all, knowing that the Captain named Quincy had posted a tough-looking burly guard at her door. She wasn't sure if he was there to protect her from harm or to keep her from escaping. She fingered her Q necklace nervously as it appeared around her neck.

*A gentle reminder to my readers: This is the original Defiant, lost in the Tholian sector in the original series, not DS9's.


	24. Booby Trap

For Piotr's Sake

Chapter 24

Despite the ISS Destiny's crew's efforts to reassure her that she would not be harmed, and that the big burly ugly guard at the door was there for her protection against the possible advances of the nearly all male ship's complement, Roberta was becoming more and more fearful. These people were strangers to her, and the man who kidnapped her acted worse than the Ferengi. She was still terrified that he was going to hurt or kill her because she did not know anything about the time pod or how it worked when he showed it to her. Also, this was the alternate universe she had heard so much about from Mr. Seven before she was sent to help Pavel recover his memory after his concussion. The guard at the door did little to set her mind at ease as well. She felt that his presence was like a wolf being put in charge of sheep. She also was growing fearful that she would be stuck in this dreadful universe and this time period forever, hundreds of light years from her home planet, never to return to her normal life in the twentieth century. She smiled wanly at that thought as she wiped a tear. Her life had become anything but normal after she met the enigmatic Gary Seven that fateful early spring day in 1968. She recalled how her best friend Barbara Birch was circling the block on 68th street, dressed in her grey fox stole with a jeweled clasp and keeping an eye out for any shady characters as Roberta entered the building to her new job. She did not know it at the time, but Barbara was one of Seven's operatives as well, and had been ordered by the two ill-fated agents, who presumably died in a car accident, to make sure she found Seven's apartment complex safely. After about an hour of pacing, she grew weary and sat down on an armless black chair, placing her head on a table that held a tri-screen. She recalled how to turn it on to get soothing music, but as she reached for it, she thought better of it. She had no desire to be kidnapped by anyone else. With that thought, she started to weep softly.

"_Roberta…" _She heard a familiar voice in her mind. A little startled, she looked around the room. There appeared to be no one there. For a moment, she thought she had imagined hearing her Q friend's voice. Then, she heard it again. _"Roberta…please don't be afraid."_

"Quinn, is that you? Or am I cracking up?"

In a flash of brilliant light, he appeared in her guest quarters and smiled at her warmly. His presence immediately had a calming effect on her and she returned the smile.

"Quinn, boy am I glad to see you! Are you here to rescue me?"

"Not exactly, my dear. I am here to remind you that your necklace will protect you against any possible harm. Also, you do have the ability to teleport."

"I had forgotten about the magical properties of this necklace." She replied, looking down at it and recalling how it disabled the Borg queen in a previous adventure. "However, I have not mastered the art of teleportation yet. I'm not sure how to use it. I keep ending up in places I don't want to be. I'm scared, Quinn."

"I know you are. That's why it's glowing and there is another reason why I'm here. I have come to tell you that Pavel is on his way via the USS Defiant. You should sit tight until he gets here. With my help, he will strand that creep Rasmussen in this century and will secure the time pod for Mr. Seven. Of course, he won't know that I am helping him. I am going to let him think he's a hero for once."

"He _is_ a hero, Quinn! He's risking his life and that formerly lost ship to rescue me."

"You love him, don't you?"

"Yes. I love him very much." She admitted. She then saw the look on his face, and realized that he too had feelings for her. "I love you too, Quinn."

"I am glad." He said, giving her a gentle smile. "I will stay with you until he gets here. I will have to be invisible, of course. There is no use in alarming the natives. Also, if they try to hurt you in any way, your necklace or I will destroy them."

"Thank you, Quinn, but don't do that. They can't help what they are. However, if my necklace ends up destroying them, then I will still be stuck in this century and in this awful universe."

"Don't worry about that, Roberta. In that event, I will bring you home myself, or Pavel will. You have nothing to fear here."

When the ISS Destiny arrived at the Halkan home world, Captain Piotr and two of Quincy's crew beamed down to the coordinates of the di-lithium crystals detected there. As they materialized, the captain and the small landing party found themselves in a domed enclosure; something they hadn't expected to find. They thought that they were going to materialize in a di-lithium mine. The interior looked like a very spacious living room. Out of the windows could be seen lush tropical greenery, and beautiful flowers. There were no signs of devastation from any man-made disaster, and they soon came to the realization that that had been a ruse as well. Sighing, Piotr took out his communicator, realizing now that what they had detected on the ship was nothing but a trick of some sort, used apparently to fool the sensors of would-be invading ships. He smiled in admiration of this seemingly dead race for coming up with such an artful deception. They truly were a race worthy of saving, even though the empire could not expect their cooperation. It was a pity that they apparently chose suicide rather than yield to their demands.

"Chekov to the Destiny. Please beam me back up. There are no di-lithium crystals here."

"Transporter room, sir. This is Beckwith. I'm sorry sir, but we can't get a lock on you or the landing party. Something is blocking your signals."

"Do you mean we are trapped down here?" Piotr asked, realizing that Captain Quincy had a crewman with the same last name as the engineer on the Reliant.

"I'm afraid so, sir. There is some kind of dampening field down on the surface that is masking all of your signals."

"Damn clever, these Halkans. Recommendations?"

"We might be able to send a shuttle craft to get you out of there, sir."

"Are you detecting any kinds of weapons set up to prevent a shuttle craft from landing?"

"No, sir. Being that the Halkans were an extremely peaceful people and abhorred violence, they would not have used deadly force to protect their planet. However, that dampening field down there would probably keep the shuttle from ascending once it reached the surface."

There was a large viewing screen in the room and it suddenly switched on. The face of the leader of the Halkan council appeared, looking quite stern, but tired. He spoke as the landing party watched in astonishment.

"_Human invaders…we Halkans have been repelling your kind for almost a century. We have come up with this solution to stop you permanently. We run this complex from a remote location on a nearby neighboring planet. We will not harm you, but you will spend the rest of your lives here on this planet. Your every physical need will be met, but there is no escape. We have kept the lines of communication open on your ship so they will know what happened to you. However, that link will now be terminated. Welcome to our version of Guantanimo Bay, foolish Earthlings." _The Halkan gave them all a satisfied smile as his face disappeared off the viewing screen.


End file.
